Love, murder, English term papers and the Lake Champlain Monster.
Amelia Prentice, fortyish high school English teacher, trips over a corpse in the safest of places, the public library. Now, nothing of her cozy small town life in the Adirondacks will be the same.
Amelia (whose pet peeve is the non-word ‘irregardless’) returns to school, but soon she must deal with the facts: this death was no accident and she’s a murder suspect. The victim’s mother disappears; friend Lily is thrown overboard from the Lake Champlain ferryboat, a mysterious millionaire wants to buy Amelia’s house, the school nurse is viciously attacked and Amelia’s old beau Gil seems interested again.
And, of course, there’s the Lake Champlain monster.
It will take all Amelia’s wisdom, humor and faith to figure out what’s going on.
If she survives…
Excerpt
"It's Marguerite LeBow, Amelia. She's dead. On the floor in there.” She pointed at the copy room. "It must have been her—her body that you tripped over.” She gave a tiny hysterical giggle and fell uncharacteristically silent.
"What? But, I don't understand, Lily. I...I was just making copies,” I tried to explain. At the time, it seemed important that everyone understand. "Sixty-seven copies—a woodcut of the Globe Theatre--you know, the one Shakespeare—” I looked down at my sleeve. "Oh! Dear God, blood!” It was a prayer. “Lily, there's blood on me!” I plucked at it frantically, pulling the stained fabric away from my skin.
Professional Reviews
The Suspense Zone, Vic G
have to admit I miss the classic mystery novels by the masters: Ellery Queen, Agatha Christie and Earl Stanley Gardner who would provide a murder bring in their respective investigators or lawyer and give the reader such twists and turns until the mystery was resolved. Very difficult to get stories like that anymore. That is until now. Welcome E. E. Kennedy who with her new heroine, Amelia Prentice, gives us a taste of what those classic stories used to give us. There is a murder in the copy room at the public library of all places and Amelia literally trips over the body. Now she is the suspect in the murder and she sets out to find who really did it. However, the deceased left something behind, something the murderer has killed for and will kill again until he gets it. The murderer thinks Amelia has it, she doesn't know what it is nor does she know she has it. Time is running out for her to find out who did it and why before she becomes the next victim.
Ms. Kennedy has crafted a page turner worthy of the old masters, an exciting event, some story, another exciting event, more story. And the mystery is terrific. You want to figure out who us behind everything but you just can't seem to and so you flip another page hoping for an answer which doesn't come until the satisfactory end. E. E. Kennedy is a fun author that makes reading enjoyable even if you are sitting on the edge of your chair. Don't bother bringing a beverage to drink while you read because you will forget it is there the story is that intense. Ms. Kennedy batted a thousand on this one. I highly recommend it.
The Wordsmith Journal Magazine, Deborah Picurelli
I've never read a "cozy" mystery before, and I'm supposing Irregardless of Murder is one such book. I could be wrong, though. The word "cozy" does seem to describe the feel of this novel. I was delighted with the story and characters.
In Irregardless of Murder, Marguerite LeBow had been murdered in the copy room at the public library, and Amelia Prentice is the one to find her. Well, she trips over her upon entering the room, then falls and hits her head. So, she really never sees Marguerite's corpse at all. As a teacher, Amelia had many of the citizens of her small town as students through the years, such as Marguerite. She had liked Marguerite, and thought her a good student. But Marguerite leaves something behind for Amelia, and her murderer is after it, willing to go to any lengths for it. Amelia has no idea what it is, or how to obtain it herself, so she could give it to the police as evidence. She has some friends to help her along the way: Her best friend, Lily Burns; Marguerite's mother, Marie; Vern Thomas; Gil Dickensen, Vern's uncle, and Amelia's high school sweetheart, among a few others. Will Amelia and her friends discover this evidence before the killer makes Amelia victim #2?
Most of the characters in this novel are of middle age, so that group of readers is its target. Although, I'm willing to bet the younger set would like it, too. For those who like a cute, quick, entertaining read, this book is perfect.
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