A Death at Tippett Pond

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For 40 plus years, Beth Russell's life was pretty ordinary. She had loving parents and a consulting job she enjoyed, but out of the blue, her life was turned upside down. In A Death at Tippett Pond by Susan Van Kirk, Beth is summoned to Sweet Iron, Illinois, by an attorney. (A Death at Tippitt Pond will be published by Encircle Publications on June 15.)

When she arrives, she discovers she could be the heir to a fortune and a spectacular mansion once owned by the Tippett family. All she needs to do it take a DNA test. The test shows Beth is the daughter of Melanie Tippett, who died young. Shocked by the realization her "parents" never told her she was adopted, she tries to come to grips with the information about her "new" mother.

Melanie and Brian planned to get married after she graduated from high school, but Melanie's father Judge Tippett absolutely refused to allow that to happen. When he discovered Melanie was pregnant, he forced her to give up the baby for adoption.

Digging into the past, Beth discovers there were six people at the pond on the day Melanie died, one was convicted of murder after he confessed. That one, Beth learns was her father, Brian Nash. But something doesn't feel right to Beth and she continues to dig and ask questions upsetting the small town folks who don't want to relive the past.

Beth searches through boxes and finds pages from Melanie's diary that show she still planned to marry Brian even though everyone in town thought she would marry someone else. Confused by what she is reading, Beth pokes and prods some more until she makes someone nervous.

A puzzle worth solving.


Disclosure: I received this book from the author.