Book Club Featuring 2025 Member Books Launches this Coming September!
Greater St Louis Sisters in Crime Monthly Meeting
Thursday, September 25, 2025
On Zoom, 7:00 p.m. Central
Greater St. Louis Chapter of
Sisters in Crime Presents:
STL SinC Book Club
Join St. Louis Authors for a Virtual Book Club
Enjoy 3 Cozy Mysteries-Bring your questions
Books Published [2025 Jan-June]
Thursday, September 25
at 7:00pm on ZOOM
Check out Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SistersinCrimeStLouis/) every week for excerpts, reviews, and behind-the-scenes author stories!
Fedora Amis
Vanderbilt in Peoria
A Jemmy McBustle Mystery
Historical Cozy mystery
from Chapter 6
All were primed for a grand attack on the hill. Even the Dorris seemed to grasp the seriousness of the occasion. It didn’t stall or backfire, not even once.
Uncle Erwin let the throttle out and the assault was on. Just as predicted, the Dorris started to slide at the site of churned-up mud. Hal raced to the front and the girls delivered their rocks to prop the back wheels.
But alas, the Dorris–which had been perfectly reliable since the stall-out at the Eads Bridge, quit. Hal was strong, but not strong enough to tow a sixteen-hundred-pound automobile up a muddy hill.
The car slid down once again. It rolled over the wheel-block rocks like a sailing ship over over a three foot wave. Defeated, Hal and the girls traipsed down to the car.
Nervy said, “It would seem the ratio of forward propulsion failed to equal the countervailing force of gravity.”
Hal and Jemmy stared at Nervy–who uttered not a single syllable more.
Jemmy said, “And do you have a solution for our little gravity problem?”
Nervy’s answer sounded like a question. “Get a horse?”
To hear the author read chapter 6, listen here. The excerpt above begins at 11:30 on the audio line.
Take a look at my minute-and-a-half video about Vanderbilt in Peoria. Find it at https://www.facebook.com/SistersinCrimeStLouis
Marjory Drennan
Hidden in Hastings
Bonnie’s Second Act
Cozy Animal mystery
A retired European chocolatier enjoys a prosperous life in the village of Hastings-on-Hudson. But his life is cut short. Was it love? Or greed? Or has his past finally caught up to him?
Bonnie and Ruth are pulled into the mysterious man’s secrets when the great aunts plead for help finding their mahjong partner. They uncover a spurious engagement, shady diamonds, and a long-lost son who has traveled halfway around the world to meet a father he never knew…and now, never will. And what’s the connection with a beloved but long-dead collie whose grave site gets a lot of traffic?
It’s Thanksgiving week, but gratitude is on hold until Bonnie can suss out the significance of an orphanage in Africa, a canine cemetery, and some dicey business in New York’s Diamond District and potentially unearth another killer.
“Come along with the delightful cast of characters and explore village life—and find a murderer – in Westchester County.
-Rett MacPherson, author of Torie O’Shea Genealogy Mysteries
And here’s a taste…
“I’m so sorry,” Bonnie tells him. “Charlie is dead.”
“Aw, jeez.” Gabe leans back in his chair and drags a hand across his lined face. “Poor Charlie. He was feeling his age. Did his son get here in time to see him? I know he was coming from somewhere…someplace tropical? Charlie was hoping he could teach his son how to work with the diamonds. Jeez, cryin’ shame, poor guy.”
“Charles was murdered, Gabe.” Bonnie watches his reaction.
Gabe bolts out of his chair. “Murdered! You said murdered, so it ain’t the Feds. Did Viv kill him?”
Bonnie blinks. “You know Viv? And what did you mean about the Feds?”
Gabe runs a fist through his hair. Throwing his hands in the air, he walks toward the exit but soon returns to the table. “What do you two know about all this?”
“We know that there’s a lot we don’t know.” Bonnie has forgotten about dancing with Hiro. “Can you help?”
Gabe looks at Hiro. “What do I do, Professor? I’ve been loyal and kept a guy’s secret for a lot of years. What about now he’s dead?”
Hiro shrugs. “It’s your decision, Gabe.” After considering it a moment, Hiro continues, “But maybe ask the question, is there a greater good to be considered?”
Gabe waves his hand at Hiro. “Still answering a question with another question.”
Gabe sighs. He plucks a toothpick from his glass and contemplates the olive before swallowing it. “We met back in the 1970s when I was first learning the business. Then I didn’t see him again until he came back to the States fifteen years ago. I heard some stuff through the grapevine about him but didn’t know how much was true. So, he’s back in town, and he looks me up. ‘Gabe,’ he says, ‘I got a proposition for you. Gabe,’ he tells me, ‘I’m retiring. I want to settle down.’
“Well, the Charlie I know was always on the go. ‘Citizen of the World,’ he calls himself. He tells me he has a stash, but he needs to move it slowly. So, I say, ‘Sure, Charlie, I can help, no questions asked.’” Gabe glances at Hiro. “This was before those ethics classes, Professor.”
Excerpt from An Elegant Death in Hastings by Marjory Drennan
Robert Lay
Holmes & Watson:
Case of the Diabolical Daughter
Cozy Animal Mystery
Holmes & Watson
Consulting Detectives
Holmes, Watson, and their new associate, Cassidy Macgregor,
thought the missing woman case they accepted would be easy;
find the girl, tickety-boo, and collect their fee. What they didn’t
realize was that this case was going to open a Pandora’s box of
corruption and expose the trio to those who are willing to do
anything for power. From the cartels of ColombWestern Texas – “I’m asking you again. Will he do what he is told to do?” the well-
dressed, middle-aged man asked as he looked out the leaded glass windows of his private study.
The thin man with a pallid complexion sat uncomfortably in the presence of his boss. These in-
person meetings were becoming infrequent, being replaced with brief calls over encrypted cell
phones, which suited him just fine. However, every once in a while, he was required to appear in
person at his boss’s home in Texas, Thy Master’s summons, the Fixer thought. “I believe he will,
sir. But when dealing with another person, no outcome is one hundred percent guaranteed, or
without some risk.”
The man returned to his burgundy-colored cigar chair and took another sip of his Pappy
Van Winkle. The light from the fireplace passing through the cut crystal glass made the 23-year-
old whiskey glow. It would never have occurred to him to offer a glass to his employee, and the
Fixer knew better than to ask. Coming to a decision, he said, “Fine. Start getting him speaking
engagements, the usual media outlets. Let’s see if he can handle himself.”
“Yes, sir,” the Fixer replied. “Do you want to meet him in person?”
“Let’s see how he does first,” the well-dressed man replied. “You can go.”
“Yes, sir,” the Fixer said as he stood and left by a side door.
The well-dressed man was lost in thought as he sat and oscillated his glass, making the
light dance in the glass; this whiskey was always served neat. Ice would only ruin the whiskey’s
perfection. His contemplation was broken when there was a discrete knock on the main doors of
the study, a moment, and the Mahogany pocket doors were pulled open. An elegant woman stuck
her head and smiled. “Dinner’s ready,” she told her husband.
2
“Coming, Dear,” James replied, returning her smile.ia to the slums
of London, will Holmes be able to follow the clues and solve
the mystery before the case claims one of their own?
A new series by the acclaimed author of
The Giblet & Belle Mysteries
Excerpt from the Prologue
Western Texas – “I’m asking you again. Will he do what he is told to do?” the well-
dressed, middle-aged man asked as he looked out the leaded glass windows of his private study.
The thin man with a pallid complexion sat uncomfortably in the presence of his boss. These in-
person meetings were becoming infrequent, being replaced with brief calls over encrypted cell
phones, which suited him just fine. However, every once in a while, he was required to appear in
person at his boss’s home in Texas, Thy Master’s summons, the Fixer thought. “I believe he will,
sir. But when dealing with another person, no outcome is one hundred percent guaranteed, or
without some risk.”
The man returned to his burgundy-colored cigar chair and took another sip of his Pappy
Van Winkle. The light from the fireplace passing through the cut crystal glass made the 23-year-
old whiskey glow. It would never have occurred to him to offer a glass to his employee, and the
Fixer knew better than to ask. Coming to a decision, he said, “Fine. Start getting him speaking
engagements, the usual media outlets. Let’s see if he can handle himself.”
“Yes, sir,” the Fixer replied. “Do you want to meet him in person?”
“Let’s see how he does first,” the well-dressed man replied. “You can go.”
“Yes, sir,” the Fixer said as he stood and left by a side door.
The well-dressed man was lost in thought as he sat and oscillated his glass, making the
light dance in the glass; this whiskey was always served neat. Ice would only ruin the whiskey’s
perfection. His contemplation was broken when there was a discrete knock on the main doors of
the study, a moment, and the Mahogany pocket doors were pulled open. An elegant woman stuck
her head and smiled. “Dinner’s ready,” she told her husband.
“Coming, Dear,” James replied, returning her smile.