Emma Lord, editor and publisher of The Alpine Advocate, is disgruntled that her family wasn't able to join her for Thanksgiving. The following Monday, the Sheriff, Milo Dodge, comes to her with a series of cryptic letters about a murder that took place years before. To add to the mystery, maples are being poached from the surrounding forests and a reclusive artist named Carl Laurentis is found shot just after delivering a new painting to the local art gallery.
Emma and Milo have an on and off romance but the situations that arise put a whole new light on their relationship. When Emma starts getting letters from the same source, they actively re-open the investigation. The man who went to prison for the murder tells his son he was innocent and then dies suddenly. The investigation will take on a new urgency with the probable suicide of the divorced wife of the convicted man.
While I have read other books by Mary Daheim and enjoyed them, this one was a little dark for me. Emma is a cynical, slightly bitter character with a sarcastic way. The mystery was good and kept me guessing until the last minute. I might have enjoyed to story more had I not started with this book, the 22nd installment in the series.
Nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, the
charming little hamlet of Alpine is welcoming Thanksgiving
with open arms, while Emma Lord, editor and publisher of
The Alpine Advocate, feels her spirits sink. There will be
no family and no friends - not even Sheriff Milo Dodge - to
share the day. How, she wonders, has she managed to screw
up her life so badly?
But on the Monday after the holiday, a call from Sheriff
Dodge concerning a trio of alarming unsigned letters he has
received leaves Emma no time to wallow. The writer asserts
the wrongful murder conviction ten years ago of Larry
Petersen, a onetime Alpine resident who has recently died
in prison. The real culprit, the letters declare, has made
a deathbed confession of the crime. Neither Emma nor Milo
recognizes the repentant killer's name. Even Emma's
stalwart House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, from whom no
Alpine secrets are hid, is baffled. They decide that the
whole thing must be a twisted prank.
Then a fourth letter arrives, threatening that if swift
action isn't taken to right this alleged perversion of
justice there will be another death - most likely Emma's or
Milo's. As rumors of a coming homicide spread along Front
Street, a ripple of panic runs through the Valley of the
Sky.
Is Milo the real target? Is Emma in danger? Should Vida run
for cover under one of her biggest hats? Mary Daheim's new
Emma Lord novel is a rich and authentic blend of small-town
life and chilling menace.
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