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.

Comments

Mitzi said…
Lois:
Interesting premise and as a former nursing home nurse, I definitely will be getting the book.
Mitzi
Kathleen Kaska said…
What a great setting for a murder; a nursing home full of people with lifetimes of stories to tell and even more secrets they've never told.
Lois Winston said…
Thanks, Mitzi! Hope you enjoy it.

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.
I'm always fascinated by stories that have a basis in real life ~ and the news is certainly an abundant source for inspiration. Congratulations on the release of Revenge of the Crafty Corpse, Lois ~ it sounds terrific!

Happy New Year to you and Marilyn, too.
Lois Winston said…
Thanks for the congrats and for stopping by, Kathleen!
Annette Mahon said…
I'll have to look for this; sounds good. A television news magazine story about an "angel of death" in a nursing home inspired my own An Ominous Death. A care home is a great setting for murder.

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