Murder Goes to Market

Set in the seaside town of San Elmo, Calif., Bateman’s entertaining debut and series launch introduces former software engineer Claudia Simcoe, who now runs a marketplace for independent businesses selling “local and/or artisanal” products. Claudia has the unsavory task of confronting Lori Roth, owner of Lori’s Handmade Creations, when she discovers that Lori’s merchandise is in fact made in factories and available online at significantly cheaper prices. The next morning, Claudia arrives to open the marketplace and finds Lori dead, hit on the head with a pickle jar and garroted with a cheese-slicing wire. Unfortunately for Claudia, police chief Bill Lennox, a “man with a face like a disappointed frog,” wants to pin the death on her. Evidence starts stacking up, and Claudia has no choice but to investigate on her own. Another death raises the stakes. Claudia’s lively and often highly amusing narration presents plausible potential suspects and motives galore—all this plus intelligent furry and feathered friends. Cozy fans will eagerly await Claudia’s next adventure. Agent: Abby Saul, Lark Group. (Sept.)