Katherine Fletcher is back with something for your weekend reading table. Beverly, one of the Thursday Book Club sleuths, understands the value of giving people a comfortable place to sit.
By Katherine Fletcher
A plate of cookies gives a visitor a reason to linger. There is time to pour another cup, ask about a neighbor, and let a conversation find its own pace.
That suits Beverly. In Lakeside Murder, she brings warmth and an interest in people to a group whose other members have experience with classrooms, finances, and the law.
Thank you for welcoming me back, Sylvia. Today, I thought we could spend a little time at Beverly’s end of the table.
Something to share
Her molasses cookies have ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, with sugar rolled around the dough before baking. The centers stay soft, and the tops develop those familiar little cracks.
The recipe makes about two dozen, enough to set some out and still have a few to put aside for later. You can find the full ingredients and directions on my website.
A familiar kitchen can make a useful setting in a mystery. People arrive with different concerns. One person wants to talk; another would rather discuss anything except the question that brought everyone together.
A good listener has to notice both. Beverly’s contribution grows from paying attention to people, including the things they are comfortable saying when nobody seems to be conducting an interview.
A book for the other hand
Lakeside Murder follows Dot Halstead and her three longtime friends as they investigate a death at Kettle Creek’s Historical Society. Their different ways of looking at the town help them question an explanation others are ready to accept.
Find Lakeside Murder on Amazon, then bring your preferred reading snack.
What belongs beside a good mystery: tea and cookies, coffee and cake, or something entirely different?
Katherine Fletcher writes clean cozy mysteries featuring clever puzzles, enduring friendships, and small-town settings.