Lily Bard is a loner. Other than the day-to-day workings of her cleaning and errand-running service, she pays little attention to the town around her. But when her landlord is murdered, Lily is singled out as the prime suspect, and proving her innocence will depend on finding the real killer in quiet, secretive Shakespeare.

Review

"While on a late-night job in tiny Shakespeare, Ark., Lily Bard, 31, sees a furtive figure placing large plastic garbage bags in the local park and, untying one, discovers the body of her former landlord. In a quick but anonymous phone call (she is determined to avoid any questioning), she reports it to the police chief. With skill and wry wit, Harris, the author of the Aurora Teagarden series, soon reveals the horrific facts in Lily's background that explain why she is solitary, confrontational, obsessed with self-defenseand why she chooses, despite a first-rate education, to eke out a living as a cleaning woman. Realizing, however, that her fingerprints on the body of the dead man might make her a suspect, Lily subtly and insightfully queries her customers, some of them tenants of the murdered landlord, in the process meticulously evaluating their closets, drawers and motives. The renters are a well-defined lot: a happily promiscuous idler; a sanctimonious and hypocritical reverend; and an aging couple with much to grieve about. As Lily investigates, she develops a wary but cordial relationship with the police chief and forms a warmer tie with her karate instructor. But at the same time, someone has discovered the unspeakable facts about Lily's past and has begun stalking her. Harris's finely tuned, colorful and suspenseful tale, filled with vigorous and unique characters, will leave readers hoping it's the start of a series." Publishers Weekly

Praise for series

"Fresher, more unusual, than any other mystery I've read lately." The Washington Post Book World, "This one works on every level. The writing and plotting are first-rate."--The Washington Times"A seamless story…In her Lily Bard novels, Charlaine Harris blends a noirish atmosphere with a traditional mystery." Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 'Lily Bard is one of the best-drawn and most compelling characters in contemporary mystery fiction--complex, smart, streetwise, tough. Add tight plotting and a smooth style, and it's no surprise that Harris has reached a new high. Don't miss it.' Booklist.

Author Biography

Charlaine Harris is the author of the New York Times bestselling series of supernatural romantic mysteries starring Sookie Stackhouse, the telepathic bar maid, and a cast of vampires, werewolves and things that really do go bump in the night, and the Harper Connelly series about a girl who makes her living finding the dead.