A Scandal in Scarlet

An auction to rebuild the West London, Massachusetts, History Museum leads to murder. In A Scandal in Scarlet by Vicki Delany. Gemma and Jayne offer the cafe as a place to hold the auction. There are many moving parts to the auction and through some maneuvering, Kathy Lamb ousts the previous chairperson and has herself appointed. (A Scandal in Scarlet will be released by Crooked Lane on November 13.)

This does not sit well with some of the volunteers, but Kathy is a whirlwind of planning and she gathers all the pieces together and the auction is being organized without a glitch. That is until the day of the event. Organizer Kathy Lamb is found dead minutes before the fundraising auction is about to occur with a series of miniature teacups on a pink rope.

Gemma wants to investigate, but her relationship with Detective Ryan Ashburton and her adversarial relationship with Detective Louise Estrada holds her back a bit. When all the auction items are confiscated by the police, including a priceless book owned

by her uncle, Gemma decides to quietly investigate. Of course nothing is done quietly in a small town and Ryan catches wind of her efforts. He is not pleased, but his partner Det. Estrada is enraged. She warns Gemma off the case.

There are plenty of suspects including all the back stabbing members of the committee, Kathy's ex-husband and his new wife. An excellent mystery.

Preorder purchase link