Eleanor 'Nell' Pratt is responsible for keeping the money
flowing through the veins of the Pennsylvania Antiquarian
Society. Her job duties include media releases, setting up
lavish fundraising soirees and even taking care of a drunk
board member or two. Until this week, however, it hadn't
stretched to dealing with theft or deaths on the premises.
Alfred the computer whiz had just passed on his fears that
carefully selected artifacts had been stolen from the dusty
shelves and sold for thousands and thousands of dollars,
then died before he could share anything further. Worse yet,
a prominent volunteer and benefactor has discovered some of
her families most historically valuable correspondence are
no longer among the items donated after the death of her
father. If she goes to the media, the Antiquarian Society is
doomed. Nell is left holding the bag. The missing items
could just be misfiled, as the centuries old artifacts were
only loosely
organized, but if the worst was true, they could only have
been stolen by an employee or member of the society. What a
nightmare for any future fundraising.
FUNDRAISING THE DEAD falls firmly into the cozy mystery
genre. The peek behind the scenes of an old museum striving
to fit into a less trustful modern world is appealing, and
the challenge set by the peculiar situation provides a
fairly unique setting for this amateur sleuth and her co-
workers. Sheila Connolly is better known for her Orchard
mystery series, but her real-life background as a fundraiser
for non-profits informs this Museum mystery with a strong
sense of realism.
At The Society for the Preservation of Pennsylvania
Antiques, fundraiser Eleanor "Nell" Pratt solicits
donations-and sometimes solves crimes. When a collection of
George Washington's letters is lost on the same day that an
archivist is found dead, it seems strange that the Society
president isn't pushing for an investigation. Nell goes
digging herself, and soon uncovers a long, rich history of
crime.
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