Fiddle Dee Death - Softcover

Cousins, Caroline

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0895872757 ISBN 13: 9780895872753

Publisher: John F Blair Pub, 2003

Synopsis

Mystery among the moonlight and the magnolias . . .OK, forget the magnolias. It's the end of December, after all, and frost silvers South Carolina's Low Country. But Pinckney Plantation is still open for visitors who want to see the pride of Indigo Island. The old house claims a long history -- or so says the script the tour guides go by.What the script leaves out are the doors that apparently unlock themselves, the flickering lights, the sound of ghostly footsteps. And the dead body.The corpse is a new addition. Who is he? And what was he doing at Pinckney? And did he fall, or was he pushed?These are among the questions that puzzle the self-appointed detective trio of cousins thrown together for the holidays. Revelations about ruthless developers, secretive landowners, and family scandals are interspersed with hilarious samples of Southern manners before the cousins finally piece together the puzzle.

About this title

About the Author

Caroline Cousins is a pseudonym for Meg Herndon, her sister Gail Greer, and Nancy Pate, their one-and-a-half first cousin (their mamas are sisters and their daddies are first cousins). Meg, a former elementary-school teacher, and Gail, a floral designer and former plantation tour guide, live in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Nancy, book critic for the Orlando Sentinel, lives in Orlando, Florida.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Miss Augusta teetered on the vintage high heels she insisted on wearing and leaned back against the car, obviously flustered. With her dyed red hair escaping in wisps from the French twist she always wore and her blue winter coat, she looked like that poster you see everywhere, the photo of the angry bluebird, its chest and feathers all puffed out. Taller and thinner, though.

"What man?" she said, marching toward the house. "How bad's he hurt? Where is he? I need to see him. Where's Will?" She looked up at the porch, where one of the EMS techs had just come out the door. "Young man. Put out that cigarette right now. There's no smoking at Pinckney. And no, don't you dare throw that butt in the camellia bushes! Put it out in the drive and then put it in your pocket."

Frowning, Miss Augusta turned her attention back to us. "Lindsey, I didn't see you. How are you, dear?" I got a strong whiff of Chanel No. 5 as she gave me a brisk hug and kissed the air near my ear. I could feel the knobs of old bones beneath the coat. She stubbornly continued up the brick path, leaving Mam, Cissy, Jimmy, and myself to trail behind her, a ragtag militia cowed by its commander.

"Miss Augusta, I don't really think . . ."

"Margaret Ann, if some stranger has hurt himself on my property, it is my duty to see that he is taken care of. Even if it does mean my insurance rates will likely go up. Cissy, where did he slip? In the front hall? I told Marietta she put too much wax on those floors last time. And with this rain we had this afternoon. Were his shoes wet? I bet his shoes were wet. Hardwood floors and slick soles, why you're just asking for a sprained ankle. Didn't he see the doormat?"

"Miss Augusta, I think we best tell you that the man appears to be seriously injured."

That was an understatement, although I had to admire Mam's handling of the situation.

Still, Miss Augusta seemed to pick up on the strain in Mam's voice.

"Margaret Ann, what is it you're not saying? Dear Lord, tell me a tourist hasn't died at Pinckney Plantation."

Edition details

• Publisher: John F Blair Pub
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0895872757
• ISBN 13: 9780895872753
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208