Etiquette for Lovers and Killers — Anna Fitzgerald Healy

Set in 1960s Maine, a witty, twisty murder mystery following a young woman who just wishes something interesting would happen . . . until she stumbles across a crime of passion. What are the chances of receiving a love letter, engagement ring, and phone call for a stranger, only to see her murdered the next day?”It’s 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie is bored to death. She’s surrounded by dull people with more manners than sense, and no sign of the intrigue or romance that fills her beloved novels. That is, until an engagement ring and cryptic love letter turn up, addressed to 'Gertrude'. Until she meets yacht-club handsome Avery Webster. Until the unsettling phone calls and visits from a man in a fedora begin. Until she's one of the last people to see Gertrude alive . . . and the first to see her dead.What follows is an intoxicating cocktail of stalking, blackmail, Jell-O salads, and champagne secrets, all served along the rocky Maine coastline. Everyone is a suspect. Everyone has a secret. And (strangely) everyone has a boat. But who is willing to kiss and tell? As the body count rises and the danger nears, why does Billie feel like she’s more than just a side character? After yearning to be in the action for so long, would it be terribly unladylike to have some fun of her own?A love letter to uncivilized behavior, Etiquette for Lovers and Killers blends mystery and romance into a witty, twisty, murderous delight that aches for better manners.