A Pinch of Poison

The Quilliam sisters' Inn is suffering under two different problems. Sarah has allowed Axminster Stoker, a long term guest, to apply his TQM principles to evaluating the running of the Inn with disastrous results. And Hedrick Conway, his mother and sister have bought the town newspaper and turned it into a scandal sheet, exposing secrets and implying corruption effecting everyone in town. Into this bedlam arrives the Kipling Society. When first Hedrick's mother and then sister are murdered there is no lack of suspects. We also have problems in the sister's romantic relations to add to the mix. I found this a more satisfying mystery then the previous 2 and am looking forward to the next installment.

The main character's sister (Meg) is annoying, as she was in the first two books. This is an odd series. Quill and Meg, their romantic partners, and the Inn's manager are pretty sophisticated, and what you'd consider "politically correct" for the early 1990s, when this was originally published. But the town residents, and many of the inn's employees, are portrayed as country bumpkins.

The main character's sister (Meg) is annoying, as she was in the first two books. This is an odd series. Quill and Meg, their romantic partners, and the Inn's manager are pretty sophisticated, and what you'd consider "politically correct" for the early 1990s, when this was originally published. But the town residents, and many of the inn's employees, are portrayed as country bumpkins.

Hedrick Conway has moved to Hemlock Falls and started up a newspaper that is printing gossip about the town. Soon Hedrick's mother is murdered at the site of the towns new minimall and the Quilliam sisters start investigating. I like this series of cozy mysteries and will have to look for more of them.