The Body in the Birches

Real estate can be murder—especially when it's all in the family This Fourth of July is one of the hottest on record, and even the breeze off Penobscot Bay can't cool things down for Faith Fairchild and the rest of the folks on Sanpere Island. But the fireworks are just beginning. After the celebrations are over, Faith discovers a body in the woods near The Birches, an early twentieth-century cottage. The body is identified as The Birches's housekeeper, who seems to have succumbed to a heart attack. The death is only one of the dramatic events upending the historic house. A family gathering has been called to decide who will inherit the much loved, and very valuable, estate that has been in the Proctor family for generations. With this amount of money involved, it's just a matter of time before trouble arises among the warring potential legatees. Faith is juggling her own family problems. Her teenage son, Ben, has started a job as a dishwasher at The Laughing Gull Lodge—learning things that could land him in very hot water. And her daughter, Amy, is worried about her new friend, Daisy Proctor. Daisy is terrified—convinced that someone is trying to permanently eliminate her mother from a shot at inheriting The Birches. Another death occurs—and this time it is murder. Faith races to uncover a killer, one who is much too close to home!