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Zusatztext Praise for the New York Times Bestselling Series “Victoria Square is memorable right from the first—a place in which charming shops! vintage treasures! and hidden secrets coexist.”—Ellery Adams! New York Times bestselling author “Bartlett’s characters come alive in this tightly crafted! suspenseful plot.”—Kate Collins! New York Times bestselling author “Fun plot! fanciful characters! really fabulous crafts.”—Laura Childs! New York Times bestselling author “Wonderful...a can’t-miss hit!”—Julie Hyzy! New York Times bestselling author Informationen zum Autor Lorraine Bartlett is the New York Times bestselling author of the Victoria Square Mysteries and, under a pseudonym, another mystery series. She lives and writes in Rochester, New York. Gayle Leeson is a cozy mystery writer who also writes under the pseudonyms Gayle Trent and Amanda Lee. She lives in Virginia. Klappentext It's Christmastime! but not everyone is jolly. A dead body has just been found in Victoria Square. Katie Bonner! the manager of Artisan's Alley! is on the case in the fifth installment of this "New York Times"-bestselling series. Original. One For several seconds after her former mother-in-law had ended their call, Katie Bonner stared at her phone. What kind of sick joke was this? When Katie's husband, Chad, had been alive, one hour with Katie had been too much for Margo Bonner-and that hour had been used to make passive-aggressive digs at the woman who could never be good enough for her darling Chad. And now-now?-after Chad had been dead for nearly two years, Margo would be "passing through" and wanted to spend a couple of days with Katie? Why? And even stranger, why had Katie agreed to host the persnickety woman in her tiny one-bedroom apartment? She could've said no, could've made up an excuse, could've suddenly booked a one-way ticket to Bolivia. But she'd found herself saying, "Sure, that'll be fine." Fine. Why in the world . . . ? Because of Chad. Because I still miss him, too. Katie sighed as she pushed away from her desk. She grabbed a peppermint from the jar before heading out of her office at Artisans Alley, her long skirt swishing as she walked. She, and the rest of the vendors, was dressed in nineteenth-century garb for the Dickens Festival, the Alley's second annual celebration of the holiday season. The other merchants on Victoria Square had also adopted the custom-and it was paying off in spades. Since Katie had taken over running the former applesauce warehouse now known as Artisans Alley-Chad's pet project-it had grown from being an unorganized, failing group of artisans to a profitable configuration of artists and vendors. Maybe that was another reason Katie hadn't refused Margo's offer. She wanted her former mother-in-law to see what she'd done with her son's legacy. "Katie, Vance just called," Rose Nash said, the spryest seventy-something-year-old Katie had ever met. Today, she was manning cash desk one, a cute bonnet covering her blonde curls, her blue eyes sparkling with pleasure. "His church's choir will be here to sing on Saturday from one until four. Oh, I can't wait to hear those heavenly voices filling the Alley with song." Katie smiled. The customers loved it, too. "That's great. I was just going over to the tea shop for a minute. May I bring you back anything?" "Oh, no, thanks. It's . . . um . . ." Rose scrunched up her softly wrinkled face. "I've heard complaints about the food, and they don't seem to be doing much business lately." Rose had a point. 'Twas the season, and all the other businesses in Victoria Square were bustling. From what Katie could see as she walked across the parking lot, th...
