ehalequin will be publishing Thicker Than Water in paperback available in March 2006. It will be available EXCLUSIVELY at eharlequin.com.
Order Now!
Synopsis:
When genealogist Torie O'Shea returns home to New
Kassell, Missouri, from a vacation in Minnesota, she finds
two surprises: first, her mother-in-law is coming to town,
and second, her mentor and boss, Sylvia, has finally passed
away at the age of 102. Grief-stricken and further distressed
by her mother-in-law's unannounced visit, Torie is
dumbstruck when she learns that Sylvia has left all of her
worldly possessions to Torie including the Gaheimer House,
which houses the local historical society. With gigantic
boxes of artifacts and paperwork dating back to the
1920's to sort through, Torie is quite overwhelmed.
But cleaning out Sylvia's things, she finds something
strange: an old postcard from the late twenties, addressed to
Sylvia, with a photograph of a little girl on the front and
an ominous message on the back. Torie quickly becomes
determined to uncover the truth behind the mysterious
photograph. Who is the little girl? And where was the
photograph taken? Unable to make sense of her discovery,
Torie's suspicions deepen when she learns that Sylvia
hired a private detective and installed a security system
just prior to her death. Was Sylvia's death natural or
intentional? As Torie resolves to find out the truth, she
learns that some of the people in her town are not
necessarily what they seem to be, and it becomes clear that
somebody wants her silenced.
Filled with the intricate stories and engaging characters
that have come to characterize her mysteries, once again,
Rett MacPherson delivers a fascinating story that promises to
delight fans and newcomers alike.
From Romantic Times Magazine: Top Pick! 4 1/2 stars
A clever, flawlessly rendered plot and authentic characters make the latest Torie O'Shea mystery a compelling read.
Historian Torie is a particularly engaging heroine: smart and brave, with faults that only make her more endearing.
When Torie inherits a fortune after her boss dies, many people in her small town react badly. In fact, a jealous person beings an
increasingly bitter campaign against her. What better time for her mother-in-law to show up for an extended visit! Things deteriorate even more when life-threatening
attacks are made against Torie and those close to her, prompting her to wonder whether her boss's death was an accident. Ever resourseful, she uses her sleuthing skill
and historian training to uncover the culprit.
MacPherson is a born storyteller. Her charcters glow, and her small town on the Mississippi feels so real you'll want to book a weekend there. Best of
all, this tight suspensful mystery unspools at just the right pace.
Cindy Harrison
When genealogist Torie O'Shea returns home to New Kassell, Missouri, from a vacation in Minnesota, she finds two surprises: first, her mother-in-law is coming to town, and second, her mentor and boss, Sylvia, has finally passed away at the age of 102. Grief-stricken and further distressed by her mother-in-law's unannounced visit, Torie is dumbstruck when she learns that Sylvia has left all of her worldly possessions to Torie including the Gaheimer House, which houses the local historical society. With gigantic boxes of artifacts and paperwork dating back to the 1920's to sort through, Torie is quite overwhelmed.
But cleaning out Sylvia's things, she finds something strange: an old postcard from the late twenties, addressed to Sylvia, with a photograph of a little girl on the front and an ominous message on the back. Torie quickly becomes determined to uncover the truth behind the mysterious photograph. Who is the little girl? And where was the photograph taken? Unable to make sense of her discovery, Torie's suspicions deepen when she learns that Sylvia hired a private detective and installed a security system just prior to her death. Was Sylvia's death natural or intentional? As Torie resolves to find out the truth, she learns that some of the people in her town are not necessarily what they seem to be, and it becomes clear that somebody wants her silenced.
Filled with the intricate stories and engaging characters that have come to characterize her mysteries, once again, Rett MacPherson delivers a fascinating story that promises to delight fans and newcomers alike. From Amazon.com
From Booklist
Genealogist Torie O'Shea returns for another adventure set in New Kassel, near St. Louis. After the death of her mentor, crusty 102-year-old Sylvia Pershing, Torie finds herself the recipient of all of Sylvia's money and property--a very lucrative legacy. One of the bequests is Gaheimer House, headquarters of New Kassel's historical society and Sylvia's former home. As Torie sorts through the deceased's belongings, she finds a postcard addressed to Sylvia that states, "I think you have forgotten your promise." The card, Torie quickly discovers, was sent from Iowa in 1930. What promise could Sylvia have broken? As she investigates, Torie begins to hear odd noises in the house, and then she is attacked with a bat. Matters aren't helped by either a prolonged visit from her hateful mother-in-law or the cold shoulder that Torie receives from jealous townspeople whom she considered friends. MacPherson deftly ties together fascinating historical facts, colorful characters, and a suspenseful plot. This series seems to get more and more enjoyable with age. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Genealogist and historical tour guide Torie O'Shea and her spouse return from vacation to their home in New Kassel, Missouri where she learns that her employer Sylvia Pershing passed away at one hundred and two. Torie grieves her loss because she truly loved her cantankerous but honest boss and thought the senior citizen would be around forever. Shockingly at least to Torie, she inherits Sylvia's wealthy estate including the historical Gaheimer House.
Torie begins the monumental task of cataloguing the many boxes filled with objects letters, pictures and other documents dating back over eight decades. However, one odd 1920s postcard with a picture of a young girl on the front and a strange message on the back that says "I think you have forgotten your promise" surprises Torie as the two sides do not gel. The genealogist soon learns that Sylvia hired a private detective. Unable to resist especially as she begins to wonder if her boss was murdered, Torie seeks the truth of today and of what happened in the late 1920s, but someone very much alive wants her to stop or she and her extended family members will die.
The latest Torie O'Shea is an entertaining amateur sleuth novel though describing the heroine as an amateur seems wrong due to her skills developed as a genealogist. The story line focuses on Torie's investigation with amusing asides and intrusions by her extended FAMILY SKELETONS, who bring out the best and worst in the lead protagonist. Rett MacPherson provides a wonderful tale in which the heroine relearns that blood may be THICKER THAN WATER, but flows as freely when significant promise are broken.
Harriet Klausner
Thicker Than Water by Rett MacPherson
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur ISBN: 0312334087
Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader
This is MacPherson's eighth outing featuring genealogist Torie O'Shea and it's nothing short of whimsical, sweet, and greatly appealing.
Torie lives in her hometown of New Kassell Missouri with her husband and three very delightful children. She loves her life in the small historic town and previously had spent her time as the secretary of the Historical Society, and tour guide of the Gahiemer House, owned by Sylvia Pershing, the town's cantankerous matriarch. But when Sylvia dies at the ripe old age of 102, leaving all her assets to Torie including the grand mansion, Torie's life soon begins to resemble a disastrous soap opera, with the added catastrophe of a dreadful visit from the mother-in-law from hell.
Finding a post card from decades past with an enigmatic message to Sylvia indicated a past wrong, is only the beginning in a series of events that will plunge Torie's life into mayhem and mystery. Someone is not happy with Torie's new wealth and as the town takes sides against their new landlord; her mysterious new enemy goes even further by stalking Torie and threatening her well-being. Finding out who is behind all this, and if there is a connection to the mysterious postcard, will once again place Torie in the line of fire, and surviving these events, including her witchy mother-in-law is not going to be easy.
With a gentle humor MacPherson creates an enchanting setting filled with charming characters all wrapped up in a fun and refreshingly clean mystery. And while the mystery itself almost seems secondary to the traumas induced by Torie's new found wealth and her bad-tempered mother-in-law, this is not a concern as this only adds to a story that races ahead and keeps the reader chuckling and delighting the entire way through. Highly recommended, this is one you won't want to miss.