Amazon Dorothy Francis Category:  Mystery/Suspense Publisher: Five Star ISBN-10:  0786250291 Pages: 245 Copyright: March 3, 2003 Newly licensed Private Detective Katie Hassworth faces her first murder case with more than a little anxiety--not only is she a newcomer, but the Chitting family would give Sherlock Holmes a migraine. Readers will learn who murdered Alexa Chitting before she could change her will, leaving her fortune to the Key West Preervation Society rather than to friends and family. Excruciating pain exploded in her head, expanding from a central core and radiating in all directions. She raised her hands to protect herself, but the blows rained faster and faster until all her fight left her. She slumped, her head a pulpy melon dangling wetly over the cahir arm and dripping blood onto the pristine carpet. Excerpt "Get up or you're dead." The threat reverberated against her eardrums, and as she tried to pull herself to her feet, once again she saw the gun hand tremble. What if the gun fired accidentally?

Conch Shell Murder - Publisher's Weekly March 24.03
In the wake of a traumatic classroom shooting, teacher Katie Hassworth turns private detective in Francis's stylish, fast-moving adult mystery debut set in Key West. Wehn an intruder bludgeons prominent entrepreneur Alexa Chitting to death with a conch shell in what appears to abe a drug-related robbery at Alexa's marina office, the victim's daughter gets her close friend Katie to investigate. With her partner away on another assignment, the less-than-secure Katie must do her best to crack her first case on her own. Conflicts over an endangered salt pond, an affordable housing project, and a sudden change of will beneficiaries provide a murder motive for everyone from the panhandler selling information to the stunningly efficient manager of the Department of Community Affairs. An attractive and intelligent sleuth, Katie thoroughly explores all leads, albeit considerable distracted by the attentions of the town's tanned and handsome mayor, Rex Layton. Local lore, history, food, and fauna and flora add interest without overburdening a smoothly written and suspenseful tale.

Booklist: Francis, Dorothy. Conch Shell Murder. Apr. 2003
Francis, known for her mysteries for young adults, has written her first for adults. The story introduces Katie Hassworth, a recently licensed private detective in Key West. As a newcomer to the comunity, she faces a complicated case involving a prominent family. Alexa Chitting, owoner of a prosperous marina, lies dead in her office. Someone kiled her before she had a chance to sign a new will leaving her fortune to the Key West Preservation Society instead of her family and friends. The list of suspects includes her husband, lover, daughter, non-sin-law, and secretary. The mayor and the housing-development director may get involved, too. Sorting out family entanglelments and political corruption will give Katie a chance to establish herself as a detective if she can survive to solve the crime. Most Key West mysteries lean toward the hard-boiled, but this one gives cozy fans a chance to enjoy Margaritaville, too. Barbara Bibel.