The Lavender Lane Lothario
A Berger and Mitry Mystery
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The Lavender Lane Lothario is the eleventh in David Handler's original, hilarious and charming series featuring the engaging biracial couple that fans love.
Every year, the Gant family performs an annual ritual desecrating the tomb of Aurora Bing. The Gants have held a grudge against the legendary silent film star for almost eighty years, but for Shem Gant and his son, things have become personal. Aurora's only grandchild, Hubie Swope, has shut down Shem's notoriously rowdy beachfront bar, and refuses to allow The Pit to reopen until Shem undertakes expensive upgrades. This means war. And when The Pit catches fire and Hubie Swope's charred remains are found in the rubble, it also means murder.
Who killed Hubie Swope? Crime-fighting duo Mitch and Des have no idea. Not only are Shem and his son prime suspects, but so are the women in Hubie's life. To their surprise, Mitch and Des discover that Dorset's building inspector, a quiet widower who repaired cuckoo clocks in his little house on Lavender Lane, was secretly juggling four girlfriends at once. And then there's Gaylord Holland, a builder who had a beef of his own with Hubie. Dorset is in turmoil, and only New York City film critic Mitch Berger and Connecticut State Police Resident Trooper Des Mitry can put it back together.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two Dorset, Conn., families collide in Handler's entertaining 11th mystery starring State Trooper Des Mitry and her film critic boyfriend, Mitch Berger (after 2014's The Coal Black Asphalt Tomb). Every year, Sherm Gant, "a major player in the Dorset business community," and his grown son, Leland, hit the graveyard to desecrate the tomb of silent film star Aurora Bing, against whom the Gants have a long-standing grudge. This year, things are even more acrimonious because Bing's sole grandchild, nerdy building inspector Hubie Swope, has closed the Pit, the local dive Sherm owns, for safety violations. One fateful night, the Pit burns down, with Hubie's charred body inside. Though Sherm is the prime suspect in what becomes a murder case, surprise contenders start popping up. It seems that widower Hubie, introverted cuckoo clock repairer though he was, was secretly cavorting with several local ladies. Mitch's usual banter about food and films camouflages the ace crime-solving talents that will help point Des to the real killer.
