Joan Hess has been chronicling the murderous adventures of bookseller Claire Molloy, who lives in a thinly-disguised version of Fayetteville, Arkansas, where Hess herself lives, for some years.
Claire, a young widow, owns a book store near the college campus, lives with her daughter, and enjoys a life which includes some struggle and lots of fun — as well as a surprising number of corpses.
In this installment, a Renaissance Fair is taking place. Claire, her friends, her daughter, her daughter’s friends, ARSE (the Association for Renaissance Scholarship and Enlightenment, which will remind some readers of the Society for Creative Anachronism), various eccentric members of the community, and Police Lieutenant Peter Rosen, Claire’s detective fiancé, all find themselves up to their panniers and doublets in Shakespearean hi jinks.
As with all Joan Hess mysteries, there are sly digs and witty observations on modern cultural phenomena, mysterious deaths, people who aren’t what they seem to be, and interesting relationships. Claire is nervous about her upcoming wedding, a mystery from her past threatens her happiness, and everyone seems to be engaged in a feud of some kind.
This is a well-written book which fans of Joan Hess won’t want to miss. Those who haven’t yet had the opportunity to become fans of Hess can start here and enjoy this book out of order, or begin with the first Claire Molloy book, Strangled Prose, and work their way up to this one.