Left at Oz, a prequel to the other Jennie Connors books is coming in mid-2011. I don't have an exact date yet but, when I do, you'll see it here first.
PUT OUT THE LIGHT
Jennifer Connors, the activities director of Riverview Manor, is working late one night when she hears resident Nathaniel Pynchon pleading, "Put out the light." Following Nate down a darkened corridor, Jennie discovers the body of Rosalie Cardamon.
Everyone at Riverview assumes the former actor has finally slipped over the line separating fantasy from reality and committed murder. Only Jennie believes him innocent. But if not, Nate, who? When Jennie learns that wounds left by a thirty-year-old accident are still festering, she wonders if Rosalie's death could be related. Unfortunately, the police are too busy investigating Nate to care.
To further complicate matters, Jennie has problems of her own. Her estranged husband Tom is demanding she pay less attention to the murder investigation and more to the safety of their children, a demand she is forced to take seriously when someone takes a shot at her.
Avalon Books ISBN 0-8034-9719-9
CONSIDER THE LILLY
Jennie Connor’s friend, Lilly, is in big trouble. Two patrons are poisoned while dining at her restaurant. The police are busy with crowd control and don’t notice a shadowy figure climb down the arbor and slip away. Jennie watches and wonders if Lilly’s daughter, Jasmine, is up to her usual teenage mischief. Or is it something more sinister?
While the press focuses on one of the victims, Phillip Jeffries, a junior high principal who’s made a lot of enemies during his career, Jennie learns that the other victim, teacher Leonard Atkinson, has his own dirty little secret.
Jennie tries to sort it out, aided and abetted by her "tea ladies." These six elderly women, made up of more spice than sugar, are residents of Riverview Manor, where Jennie works as Activities Director.
Avalon Books ISBN 978-0-8034-9879-2
BY WHOSE HAND
When Preston Barrons hands Jennie Connors the key to Barrons Bank and Trust Company and asks her to pay a 2 a.m. visit, her instinct screams "give them back!" But how can she, when her paycheck depends on finding out who made an unauthorized transfer? Money from a recent fundraiser has ended up in the account of Webster Barrons and the family is hoping Jennie can clear their son's name.
Instead of answers, Jennie stumbles over the body of Preston's right-hand man. She goes looking for the security guard, but he finds her first and assumes she's trying to sneak out. It seems the only way extricate herself from bank politics is to find the killer.
With Nate, the Tea Ladies and the rest of Riverview's rowdy crew on hand to assist and advise, Jennie's latest adventure promises plenty of fireworks.
