Susan Hooper

Puzzles: a Barnaby Moss / Arnie Kotkin Mystery Susan Hooper

Barnaby Moss and Arnie Kotkin, lifelong best friends and now a civilly united couple, cannot stay away from murder...or at least mayhem. When a hauntingly realistic dream forces Arnie to recall a long ago trip to the shore, he looks to his natural mother, Helene Fentnor, to help him fill in the missing details. What Helene remembers is puzzling--perhaps more puzzling than the dream. Recalling the death of Gladys Frickette some 20 years earlier, Helene begins to wonder why everyone, even the police, accepted the theory that a woman who was hated by all, was killed by none! Maybe she really did cheat everyone one last time, but maybe not. With Barn and Arnie unexpectedly called into service as baby-sitters for Arnie's young nephew, Helene is left to puzzle this mystery out for herself.