Grand slam murders

Society columnist for the small newspaper in Rosalie, Mississippi, Wendy Winchester hopes to become an investigative reporter, and she sees her big chance when four society matrons drop dead at their pre-bridge luncheon one afternoon. Her boss assigns her a series of pieces celebrating the lives of the four women. It turns out the members of the exclusive Rosalie Bridge Club, also known as the Gin Girls, were poisoned, and the hostess' maid, Merleece, is the chief suspect. Wendy believes Merleece is innocent, and, with leaked information from her police-chief father and detective boyfriend, she questions other possible suspects under the guise of interviewing them for her upcoming articles. While her boss is looking for complimentary stories, the intrepid Wendy is determined to tell the truth about the women and their often wild pasts. Lee vividly captures life in a quirky southern town ruled by a rich elite, and heightens interest with a plot that exposes past secrets and a budding romance.--Sue O'Brien Copyright 2018 Booklist

Lee (the Cherry Cola Book Club series, as Ashton Lee) deals a winning hand with his welcome mystery debut, a series launch. After an alcohol-fueled lunch at the Rosalie, Miss., home of Liddie Rose, Miz Liddie and three other socially prominent widows, collectively known as the Gin Girls, prepare to play a grand slam contract as practice for an upcoming duplicate bridge tournament. But first they must drink their usual toast with cups of coffee, which Miz Liddie's servant, Merleece, provides. Soon after, all four drop dead of cyanide poisoning at the bridge table. Society reporter Wendy Winchester, whose father is the Rosalie police chief, joins the subsequent murder investigation, fearing that Merleece has been framed. That Wendy's been dating police detective Ross Rierson complicates matters. An attractive protagonist, plenty of Southern charm, a long suit of colorful characters, and a plot that comes up trumps at the surprising end all bode well for future installments. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A game of bridge holds the clue to murder.For years the Gin Girls, led by Liddie Langston Rose, have held sway over the social scene in Rosalie, Mississippi. Bethany Morrissey and Sicily Groves, Liddie's partners in crime since they were young girls, were both kicked out of Ole Miss for gin-fueled pranks, leaving Liddie and Hanna Lewis to graduate and marry wealthy men. The bridge buddies get together at Liddie's home to practice for a tournament after a few drinks and a delicious lunch prepared by Merleece Maxique, Liddie's longtime cook and maid. Merleece is in the kitchen suffering the attentions of Arden Wilson, the young gardener with whom she's never gotten along. After serving coffee, she returns to the kitchen, and that's where she is when Liddie's frantic bell-ringing brings the bickering pair back to discover all the ladies in the throes of convulsions, followed by death. Wendy Winchester, an ambitious journalist tired of writing the social column for the Rosalie Citizen, sees in the bizarre murders a chance to improve her position. Since her father's the police chief and her boyfriend, Ross Rierson, the detective assigned to the case, she and her editor both hope she'll pick up some inside information when she interviews the deceased ladies' relatives for a story about their lives. Wendy gets help from Merleece, who's known her for years. As the person who served what turned out to be cyanide in the sugar bowl, Merleece knows she's the prime suspect even though she believes that Arden, who uses cyanide to kill butterflies, is the guilty party. When the smarmy district attorney, presumably inflamed by racial prejudice, arrests Merleece, Wendy, setting out to prove her innocent, unearths a host of secrets that put her in danger.A compulsively readable series debut, dripping in Southern charm, for a clever sleuth whose bridge skills break the case. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.