The Marsh Madness

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Authors: Victoria Abbott

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Praise for the national bestselling Book Collector Mysteries

The Wolfe Widow

“The books continue to delight with sharp humor, quick-witted characters, a tough but vulnerable heroine, and celebration of the classic mystery genre.”

—Kings River Life Magazine

“Victoria Abbott once again thrills readers with humor, plenty of sleuthing and some very eccentric characters. A great addition to the series!”

—Debbie’s Book Bag

“If you haven’t discovered this series yet and love cozy mysteries with a book theme, I highly encourage you to do so. I haven’t read a book in this series yet that wasn’t fun and a thrill ride.”

—Girl Lost in a Book

“I was delighted by the surprising and satisfying conclusion. Readers who read the prior two books in the series won’t be disappointed, and fans of Erika Chase, Ellery Adams, or Rex Stout will want to put
The Wolfe Widow
on this fall’s reading list.”

—Smitten by Books

The Sayers Swindle

“
The Sayers Swindle
has everything you’re looking for in a fantastic mystery—there was a great mystery that kept me guessing. Victoria Abbott swung a great twist that I never saw coming . . . I can’t wait to see what golden-age author will be featured in the next novel.”

—Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

“If you are a book lover of any kind, you will love this series.
The Sayers Swindle
is well thought-out and executed. The authors don’t leave anything to chance, they provide a great whodunit, and some really good humor. This is one you definitely want to pick up.”

—Debbie’s Book Bag

“Another fun romp . . . Filled with black humor in the midst of tragedy.”

—Lesa’s Book Critiques

The Christie Curse

“Deftly plotted, with amusing one-liners, murder and a dash of mayhem. There’s a cast of characters who’d be welcome on any Christie set.”

—
Toronto Star

“With a full inventory of suspects, a courageous heroine and a tribute to a famous writer of whodunits,
The Christie Curse
will tempt her legion of devotees. Even mystery lovers who have never read Christie—if any exist—will find a pleasing puzzle in Abbott’s opener.”

—
Richmond Times-Dispatch

“The mystery was first class, the plotting flawless.”

—Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

Berkley Prime Crime titles by Victoria Abbott

THE CHRISTIE CURSE

THE SAYERS SWINDLE

THE WOLFE WIDOW

THE MARSH MADNESS

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

THE MARSH MADNESS

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

Excerpt from
The Hammett Hex
by Victoria Abbott copyright © 2016 by Victoria Abbott

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME design are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

For more information, visit penguin.com.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-19130-3

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / September 2015

Cover illustration by Tony Mauro.

Cover design by Rita Frangie.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

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This book is dedicated to Linda Toledi Arno, whose big heart and many years of magical meals will live on in our memories.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are particularly indebted to Dame Ngaio Marsh for her body of work. Her wit and insights, descriptions, settings and theatricality continue to entertain. You still need good luck figuring out “whodunnit.”

We must thank Nancy Reid—a generous good friend, and committed mystery reader—for the gift of twenty-nine of the thirty-two Ngaio Marsh novels, allowing for many pleasant afternoons of relaxed reading—oops, we mean research—in the construction of
The Marsh Madness
.

We’d also like to give a nod to Jeff and Donna Coopman of The Usual Suspects and Peter Sellers of Sellers and Newel for help, information, hard-to-find volumes and a few laughs on the way.

Thanks to Larraine Gorman for her generous support of Ottawa Therapy Dogs. We’re glad Larraine has joined Jordan’s friends here between the covers. She makes a great addition to the Harrison Falls community.

Along the way, we learned a lot about the buzz and excitement of community theater from our good friend Judy Beltzner and the Isle in the River Theatre Company.

No doubt if you sat down with any of our family members, they might have a tale of woe about the ups and downs of having mystery writers in the fold, what with plot issues, deadlines and all that goes with the territory. Naturally, we’re grateful, especially to Giulio, who keeps the boat afloat no matter how stormy the sea. Irma Toledi Maffini and Linda Toledi Arno have laid the groundwork for Signora Panetone with their life-long wizardry in the kitchen. Peachy the Pug provides much entertainment as our real-life Walter.

We appreciate the fellowship of our friends at the Cozy Chicks Blog and Mystery Lovers Kitchen. Please join us regularly at www.cozychicksblog.com and www.mysteryloverskitchen.com to stay in touch with us in between books.

We owe special thanks to our wonderful friend and colleague Linda Wiken, aka Erika Chase, for her valuable and skilled insights into our manuscript and to John Merchant for turning his eagle eye to the pages, yet again.

Dustin Ryan deserves appreciation for his support, general cheerleading and willingness to order pizza in times of need. Thanks also to the delightful ladies of Mansfield’s Shoes, Kyra, Marion, Linda, Charley and the incomparable Miss Vicky. You put us in good shoes and even better moods.

We’d be sunk without the support of our long-suffering and big-hearted editor Tom Colgan and the ever-cheerful Amanda Ng. We know we’re lucky. We also know that our agent, Kim Lionetti, of BookEnds, always has our backs. We appreciate everything you do, Kim.

To our many readers: Thanks so much for getting in touch, for reading and enjoying the books, for getting the jokes, for spreading the word and even for asking why the next one won’t be for a year. We’re on the case!

CONTENTS

Praise for the national bestselling Book Collector Mysteries

Berkley Prime Crime titles by Victoria Abbott