Those Not So Sweet Little Old Ladies
Those
Not So Sweet Little Old Ladies
Tomorrow is the official release date of Revenge of the Crafty Corpse, the third
book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. I refer to Anastasia as a
reluctant amateur sleuth because she’s not one of those busybodies who is
always sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. She really would much prefer
to live a quiet middleclass existence and leave the crime solving to the
experts, but circumstances – otherwise known as her Dead Louse of a Spouse –
have seen fit to yank that comfortable life out from under her. Once that
happened, beginning with finding a murder victim glued to her office chair in Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the
dead bodies started piling up around poor Anastasia.
Soon she
found herself thrust into a world very foreign from her life as a mom and craft
editor. Really, how often do moms and craft editors find themselves the target
of killers? Apparently, quite often as Anastasia is discovering.
In Revenge
of the Crafty Corpse, hours
after Anastasia settles Lucille, her belligerent communist mother-in-law, into
a rehab center to recuperate from surgery, Lucille’s roommate is found dead.
Because Lucille had been overheard stating, “If that damn woman doesn’t shut
up, I’m going to strangle her!” she becomes the prime suspect in the woman’s
murder.
Anastasia knows Lucille is many things – annoying,
mean, strident, and a pain in everyone’s tush – but she’s not a killer. As much
as she’d like to be rid of her mother-in-law (the character readers love to
hate,) she can’t stand by and watch Lucille convicted of a crime she didn’t
commit. So Anastasia reluctantly begins snooping around. What she discovers is
that the sweet little old lady in the bed next to Lucille was anything but
sweet. Who knew a ninety-eight year old woman with a penchant for ruffles and
lace could lead such an X-rated life?
Like many of my ideas, the plot for Revenge of the Crafty Corpse came to me
after reading an article about a murder in a nursing home. That article piqued
my curiosity, and I began doing some research into other murders at nursing
homes. It seems the elderly don’t always sit around playing gin rummy and
watching Dr. Phil. Scandals abound, and revenge is rampant. As one nurse warns
Anastasia, “Watch your back.” Good advice to follow the next time you find
yourself visiting an elderly relative at one of these places.
Bio:
Award-winning author Lois
Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries
series featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia
Pollack. Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun,
the first book in the series, received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Kirkus Reviews dubbed it, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to
Stephanie Plum.” Death By Killer Mop
Doll was released this past January. Crewel
Intentions, an Anastasia Pollack Mini-Mystery is now available as an ebook,
and Revenge of the Crafty Corpse is
a January 2013 release.
Lois is also published in women’s fiction, romance, romantic suspense, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. In addition, she’s an award-winning crafts and needlework designer and an agent with the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. She’s also the author of the recently released Top Ten Reasons Your Novel is Rejected. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com, visit Emma at http://www.emmacarlyle.com, and visit Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers character blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.
Lois is also published in women’s fiction, romance, romantic suspense, and non-fiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. In addition, she’s an award-winning crafts and needlework designer and an agent with the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. She’s also the author of the recently released Top Ten Reasons Your Novel is Rejected. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com, visit Emma at http://www.emmacarlyle.com, and visit Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers character blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com.
Comments
Interesting premise and as a former nursing home nurse, I definitely will be getting the book.
Mitzi
Thanks, Kathleen! I was amazed at what I uncovered when I started researching some of the crime that occurs in nursing homes, even well-respected ones. I guess you never know what's going to happen when you get people from all walks of life living together under one roof.
Happy New Year to you and Marilyn, too.