A Matter of Roses (Faith Abbey Mystery Series, Book 1)

When the prominent and much loved scientist Maurice Tomlinson dies of bee stings at a time of year when bees are dormant, many suspect foul play. Soon, Police Chief Dan Burke is on the case with the help of his childhood friend Brother Bartholomew.

The no-name storm had lashed Cape Cod for three nights and two days. Trees and power lines were down everywhere, and the great sand cliffs that had taken the brunt of the Atlantic's fury bore deep scars. But by dawn of the third day the surface of Teal Pond was calm. At its edge, a family of ducks, ravenously hungry, foraged for kernels strewn on the lwn. Two ducklings found morsels around twin obstructions protruding from the pond's green scuma pair of khaki-clad lower legs that ended in white running shoes with "Nike" stamped on their soles. . . .