A Sticky Inheritance

Leaving northern Virginia and driving to lower Michigan in October is a chilly experience even if the drive doesn't culminate in a funeral. It's Nicole Fitzhenry-Dawes responsibility to arrange a funeral for her Uncle Stan in A Sticky Inheritance by Emily James. When she learns the autopsy showed a high alcohol level in his blood stream and an overdose of his heart medication, the coroner rules it as an accidental overdose or suicide.

But Nicole knows this cannot be true. Her uncle Stan had been a well-known cardiologist and his own heart condition was alcoholic cardiomyopathy - caused by heavy years of drinking. She knew he had quit drinking years before and refused to believe he would take his own life.

The farm he purchased years before had become his life. He enjoyed the small town living and the less stressful lifestyle as he told Nicole in a recent email. She convinces the medical examiner and the police chief to let her examine Stan's home to prove he was murdered. What they find seems to contradict her belief, but Nicole still argues the case.

One thing sticks in her mind - the chapter in a book about caffeine's negative interactions with the heart. What was Uncle Stan working on and why were there so many empty beer bottles in his trash?

With the help of the handsome (but possibly married) medical examiner, Nicole discovers the offending beer bottles held no fingerprints. She uncovers a complicated plot to kill someone else and finds her uncle got in the way as collateral damage.

We'll hear more from Nicole in other books to come as she has inherited the land and the sugar bush in Michigan. Looking forward to discovering what is going on with the handsome Mark Cavanaugh.

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