Prose and Cons

In Staub’s good-natured fourth Lily Dale mystery (after 2017’s Dead of Winter), widow Bella Jordan, the manager of Valley View Manor, a guesthouse in Lily Dale, N.Y., “the world’s largest center for the religion of Spiritualism,” has to deal with some unusual guests. One morning, Bella’s neighbor, haughty Pandora Feeney, charges into the Victorian manor demanding free accommodations for her Auntie Eudora and Eudora’s traveling companion, Nigel, who will be arriving by ship from England the next day. As the former mistress of Valley View, Pandora maintains a proprietary interest in the place, though she lost it years ago in a messy divorce. Soon the ever-obliging Bella is pretending to be Pandora’s servant in order to allow the woman to save face in front of demanding Eudora and smarmy Nigel. Meanwhile, there’s been a murder at sea. The investigation takes a back seat to musings about Pandora’s bad marriage, the love stories of other Lily Dale inhabitants, and Bella’s quiet interest in the local vet. Cozy fans will enjoy the company of Bella and crew. Agent: Laura Blake Peterson, Curtis Brown. (Dec.)