Dead and Gondola: A Christie Bookshop Mystery

Claire’s sparkling debut and series launch introduces resourceful Ellie Christie, who left her hometown of Last Word, Colo., right after high school to travel the world, finding work in bookshops and private libraries, or guiding literary-themed tours. Back in Last Word for a mere three weeks, she’s settling into her new role as comanager, along with her sister, Meg, of her family’s bookshop, the Book Chalet. A meeting of the store’s book club is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious man, who leaves behind a copy of Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott, an Agatha Christie pseudonym. He’s subsequently found stabbed to death in one of the gondolas on the line that connects the mountainside hamlet to the larger village below. Meg and Ellie saw him board the gondola alone. Ellie pulls out all the investigative skills she has acquired from reading mysteries to ferret out the truth behind the murder. A fair-play plot, vivid characters, fascinating facts about Dame Agatha, and an intelligent and appealing protagonist make this a winner. Cozy fans will chomp at the bit for more. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Nov.)