About this item
Arsenic with Austen is the first book in a delightful new cozy mystery series in which an English teacher becomes involved in murder cases that reflect elements of her favorite books. When Emily Cavanaugh inherits a fortune from her great-aunt, she expects her life to change. She doesnt expect to embark on a murder investigation, confront the man who broke her heart 35 years before, and nearly lose her own life. Emily travels to the sleepy coastal village of Stony Beach, Oregon, to claim her inheritance, centered on a beautiful Victorian estate called Windy Corner but also including a substantial portion of the real estate of the whole town. As she gets to know the towns eccentric inhabitants - including her own once-and-possibly-future love, Sheriff Luke Richards - she learns of a covert plan to develop Stony Beach into a major resort. She also hears hints that her aunt may have been murdered. Soon another suspicious death confirms this, and before long Emily herself experiences a near-fatal accident. Meanwhile Emily reads Persuasion, hoping to find belated happiness with her first love, as Anne Elliot did with Captain Wentworth. She notices a similarity between her not-quite-cousin, Brock Runcible, heir to a smaller portion of her aunts property, and Mr. Elliot in Persuasion, and her suspicions of Brock crystallize. But as she and Luke continue to investigate and events speed toward a climax, Emily realizes that underneath the innocent-looking rocks of Stony Beach lurk festering jealousies that would have shocked even the worst of Jane Austens charming reprobates.
About the Author
Katherine Bolger Hyde is not actually related to Ray Bolger, but she always wished she were (anyway, the name is pronounced the same, with a soft "g") . She was born almost in New York City in 1956 and has lived all over the US, but currently makes her home in the redwood country of California with her husband, youngest child, and two obstreperous cats. Katherine taught herself to read at age four and has rarely been without a book since. She decided at age eleven to become a writer, her initial idols being Mark Twain and Louisa May Alcott. In college she majored in Russian literature and expanded her favorites to include Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Austen, Dickens, and many more.Katherine writes the Crime with the Classics traditional mystery series for adults as well as fantasy and picture books for children. When not writing, reading, or editing (her day job) , she can usually be found singing, dancing, knitting, or drawing plans for her dream house.
