Joan Hess

Murder as a Second Language Joan Hess

Bookseller Claire Malloy, recently married and living in a sprawling, newly remodeled house, suddenly finds herself with a lot of spare time. To fill it, she agrees to help her daughter Caron fluff up her college application by volunteering as an ESL tutor for a nonprofit. This quickly becomes a nightmare when shes railroaded onto the board of directors. Vandalism, epic budget problems, and a cacophony of heavily accented English speakers are just the tip of the iceberg. Just as she decides it might be best to extricate herself, Claire gets a frantic call from her husband, Deputy Chief Peter Rosen: one of the ESL students has been murdered.