Mallets AforethoughtMallets Aforethought
Bantam mass market ed.
Title rated 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 15 ratings(15 ratings)
Book, 2004
Current format, Book, 2004, Bantam mass market ed, All copies in use.Book
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Agreeing to help refurbish Eastport's disreputable old Harlequin House, a one-time hideout for wounded gangsters, do-it-yourself expert Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree and her friend, Ellie White, uncover the skeleton of a notorious 1920s flapper, an unsavory discovery that is complicated by the all-too-fresh corpse sitting next to the old one. Reprint.
Jacobia &;Jake&; Tiptree left her high-powered career for a dilapidated fixer-upper and the dream of a quiet existence in the quaint town of Eastport, Maine. But she found that no matter how carefully you remodel your life, murder can take up residence anywhere.
It&;s Eastport&;s most notorious landmark: the old Harlequin House. Named for the disgraced physician Chester Harlequin, it was used as a hideout for gunshot gangsters and their molls during Prohibition&;s heyday. Now fixer-upper enthusiast Jake Tiptree and Harlequin&;s only living descendant, Ellie White, are refurbishing the mansard-roofed mansion to host the local Historical Society&;s upcoming gala. But when stripping down old wallpaper reveals a secret door to a room containing not one but two corpses, Jake and Ellie once again find home repair leading to homicide.
One of the bodies is a skeleton dressed in 1920s flapper chic. But the other is that of
real-estate mogul Hector Gosling, and in his pocket is a paper bearing the single word &;Guilty.&; The less-than-scrupulous tycoon has been poisoned, and when it&;s learned that the offending substance is the poison that Ellie&;s husband George has been using to kill red ants, he is immediately taken into custody. Then it develops that George had recently accused Gosling of a scheme to scam George&;s vulnerable old aunt out of her life savings&;and George out of his inheritance.
With George held for murder, Jake and a pregnant Ellie swing into action. In between Ellie&;s Lamaze sessions, baby showers, and CPR classes taught by Jake&;s ex-husband
Victor, the two amateur sleuths must sift their way through a trail of seemingly contradictory clues. Then another corpse surfaces and suddenly Jake and Ellie realize they must find this killer fast. A clever culprit is not only building an airtight case against Ellie&;s husband. He&;or she&;is planning to nail everyone who stands in the way.
Jacobia &;Jake&; Tiptree left her high-powered career for a dilapidated fixer-upper and the dream of a quiet existence in the quaint town of Eastport, Maine. But she found that no matter how carefully you remodel your life, murder can take up residence anywhere.
It&;s Eastport&;s most notorious landmark: the old Harlequin House. Named for the disgraced physician Chester Harlequin, it was used as a hideout for gunshot gangsters and their molls during Prohibition&;s heyday. Now fixer-upper enthusiast Jake Tiptree and Harlequin&;s only living descendant, Ellie White, are refurbishing the mansard-roofed mansion to host the local Historical Society&;s upcoming gala. But when stripping down old wallpaper reveals a secret door to a room containing not one but two corpses, Jake and Ellie once again find home repair leading to homicide.
One of the bodies is a skeleton dressed in 1920s flapper chic. But the other is that of
real-estate mogul Hector Gosling, and in his pocket is a paper bearing the single word &;Guilty.&; The less-than-scrupulous tycoon has been poisoned, and when it&;s learned that the offending substance is the poison that Ellie&;s husband George has been using to kill red ants, he is immediately taken into custody. Then it develops that George had recently accused Gosling of a scheme to scam George&;s vulnerable old aunt out of her life savings&;and George out of his inheritance.
With George held for murder, Jake and a pregnant Ellie swing into action. In between Ellie&;s Lamaze sessions, baby showers, and CPR classes taught by Jake&;s ex-husband
Victor, the two amateur sleuths must sift their way through a trail of seemingly contradictory clues. Then another corpse surfaces and suddenly Jake and Ellie realize they must find this killer fast. A clever culprit is not only building an airtight case against Ellie&;s husband. He&;or she&;is planning to nail everyone who stands in the way.
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- New York : Bantam Books, 2004.
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