On this particular sun-and-shade April morning at Fairmount Manor, Stella Ryman no more entertained the idea of becoming an amateur sleuth than she did of entering next spring’s Boston Marathon. For not only was Stella eighty-two years old, but she had lately sold her home and a lifetime of gathered possessions and washed up at Fairmount Manor Care Home in such a state that she would have bet her remaining seven pairs of socks that she’d be dead in half a year. But when money goes missing and an innocent woman stands to lose her job at Fairmount; when malicious poison pen letters find their way into the hands of staff and residents; and when a resident vanishes without a trace, Stella takes matters into her own hands. To hell with being elderly — Stella will break every one of the Director’s rules and slash all the institutional red tape in the place in her struggle to solve mysteries and protect the innocent. Over the course of the first five mystery adventures, Mrs Stella Ryman transforms from a woman on her deathbed to a force of nature and intellect. She’s a fish out of water, a stranger in a strange land, and an amateur sleuth trapped in a down-at-the-heels care home. You’d be cranky, too.
Readers are saying “witty and endearing” “beautifully written with humour, grace, and suspense” “You know a story’s good when you keep finding yourself laughing out loud.’ “Stella Ryman is my new hero!”
Table des matières
Author’s note
The Case of the Third Option
Stella vs the Dragon
The Poison Pen Affair
The Four-Digit Puzzle
The Case of the Vanished Resident
A propos de l’auteur
Mel Anastasiou loves her writing life in the UK and BC. She is senior acquisitions editor with Pulp Literature Press and writes mysteries starring sleuths who are often fish out of water and gifted amateur detectives. Mel can be found every day writing and drawing, walking for miles to look at inspired Victorian architecture, and dreaming of swans and crimes for her octagenarian sleuth, Stella Ryman, to solve. For news on her books, information about speaking engagements, tips on structure, and keys to time management for writers, visit her website, melanastasiou.wordpress.com