Double Jeopardy — Esther Luttrell

First in A Village of Artists Mysteries series, Double Jeopardy is also a double treat. Novella number one, Yellow, Green, Blue and Dead, is set in a trendy art district in North Topeka, Kansas, known for fine paintings and distinctive antique shops. What it isn't known for is murder. All of that changes when a university student becomes victim number four and the body is found by a broadcast intern at the radio station where Valle Stonewell is known as the voice of WRYT. In her attempt to interview everyone connected with the case, she stumbles upon facts known only to herself -- and to the killer. While the police pursue a murderer that psychologists compare to London's Jack-the-Ripper, Valle sets a trap for the one they least suspect. If she's wrong, it could mean the end of her career -- and her life! Novella number two, Murder in Magenta, picks up with the same cast of characters - plus a few new colorful ones - and the same setting, two years later. Handsome, young, emerging artist Louis Quinlan is killed in his studio apartment, in the heart of the eighteenth century neighborhood. Police dismiss it as a robbery gone bad until his grieving fiancée, Deb Goodman, is targeted by a madman, and her best friend, Valle Stonewell, is marked for murder as well. For readers who love suspense, Double Jeopardy is jam-packed with it. The only thing wrong with its last page is that it's over.