Product Description

Reporter and sleuth Merry Kramer tries to find out what’s happened to a coworker’s missing husband, and meanwhile learns the power of trust, both in God and relationships.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #977440 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 256 pages

From the Back Cover
The husband of reporter Merry Kramer's coworker, Edith Whatley, has disappeared, along with a car and over $12,000 in cash from Hamblin Motors. Tom Whatley -- a crook? "No way," thinks Merry. The police, however, have a different opinion, and the corpse that turns up in the Whatley's garage doesn't exactly ease their suspicions. As the question of Tom's whereabouts spirals into an increasingly sinister drama, Merry's private life takes its own infuriating turn. The proprietress of a prestigious art gallery shows an interest in Merry's boyfriend, Curt, that extends well beyond his paintings. Journalist and supersleuth Merrileigh Kramer once again finds herself amid circumstances only she could stumble into: murder, spouse abuse, a missing person, romantic intrigue, and her own unruly emotions. Linking it all together are the challenge of trust and the power of choice -- things that could mean life or death for more than just Merry and Curt's relationship.

About the Author
Gayle Roper is the author of almost 30 books, including Caught in the Middle and Caught in the Act, books one and two in the Amhearss Mystery series. She has been reading and writing mysteries for years. A member of Mystery Writers of America and former director of the St. Davids Christian Writers Conference, she speaks at women's events and writers' conferences all over the country. Roper lives with her husgband and two children in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1 This time the trouble I got myself into wasn’t Jolene’s fault. Not that she helped matters any, but at least she wasn’t the cause. Edie was. Or rather, Edie’s husband. Edie Whatley is my coworker at The News: the voice of Amhearst and Chester County, where she is editor of the family page and a features writer. I’m a general reporter and features writer. "Edie," I called across the aisle that separated my desk from her desk in the newsroom. "Are we doing a house this week for the Great Homes of Chester County series? Can I do the ironmonger’s mansion at Hibernia Park?" I thought of the big orange-colored home set on the knoll above the gently sloping lawn. It would be fun to write about it and its history. Since I’d moved to eastern Pennsylvania several months ago, I’d found local facts and trivia fascinating. There was no response from Edie. In fact, she didn’t seem to hear me at all. "Edie!" I all but shouted. Still nothing. I frowned at her. Edie was the kindest and most thoughtful of people. It wasn’t like her not to answer, especially since she was doing nothing but stare at her CRT screen. Then spoke Jolene, Queen of Tact, with her usual insight and understanding into the difficulties of life. "Edie, what in the world’s the matter with you? You’ve been a mess all day. Get a grip, woman." She scowled at Edie, her beautiful face contorted with frustration. "Jolene!" I was appalled not only at her words but her acid tone. Still, I had to admit that she got Edie’s attention. Edie sat wide-eyed and blinking, skewered by Jolene’s accusing gaze. "Spill it," Jolene demanded. "We know something’s wrong. What is it? Is it Randy?" Randy was Edie’s fifteen-year-old son whose life journey kept all of us glued for the next painful installment. Talk about As the World Turns. "Randy’s fine," Edie said. Jolene and I looked at each other, then back at Edie. "He is?" I said with more disbelief than was probably good for our friendship. "Well," she hedged. "Probably fine is too strong a word, but he’s not bad." "He’s not?" Jolene’s surprise was equally obvious. Edie’s face scrunched momentarily in pain as she understood what we had inadvertently revealed about our opinions of her son. Then she got huffy Edie-style. "I said he’s fine." "Well, if it’s not Randy," Jolene continued to probe, unabashed at having hurt Edie, "then what’s wrong? Is it Tom?" Edie flinched and smiled brightly. "Tom?" False little laugh. "Of course not. He’s fine. What could possibly be wrong with him?" I frowned. A good question. What could possibly be wrong with Tom? He and Edie were the perfect couple. Being around them was instant tooth decay due to the sweetness of their relationship. I don’t mean just lovey, which I happen to think is good, or considerate, which I happen to think is necessary. It was the touching, the patting, the unconscious back rubbing and collar adjusting. Quite simply, Tom and Edie doted on each other and didn’t care who knew. Tom was Edie’s second husband, and therein lay part of Randy’s problems. He didn’t like his stepfather. Not that Tom should take that lack of appreciation personally. Randy wouldn’t have liked any stepfather. In fact, Randy didn’t like any adults as far as I could see. He also didn’t like many kids, and I strongly suspected he didn’t care much for himself either. But Tom took the brunt of all the boy’s angst, anxiety, and anger. More than once, Edie had come to work teary-eyed, only to tell Jolene and me about Randy’s latest verbal abuse and disobedience. I’d seen a picture of Randy’s original father once. He was a giant of a man, all muscles and good looks, broad shoulders and charming smiles. He was Hulk Hogan with short hair, an amiable manner, and a dress shirt, a Certified Financial Planner who over the years had made a mint in the stock market both for himself and his clients. Randy resembled his father in size and coloring, a fact that gave him immense pride. Tom on the other hand was a slight man, five feet eight inches in his hiking boots, gentle, pleasant, and balding. Typical of a teen, Randy looked at Tom’s unprepossessing appearance and refused to think of him as anything but a wimp. "He’s a car salesman!" Randy would mock, as if automotive retail was on a par with prostitution. "Give me a break!" I looked at Randy’s mother as she sagged at her desk. She did indeed look upset, unsettled in spite of Randy doing "not bad" and Tom being fine. "Is Tom sick?" I asked Edie. Surely something like a major illness would explain her melancholy. Edie shook her head. "Not that I know of." Not yes or no. Not that I know of. What an unusual answer. I nodded. "Good." I had another thought. "He didn’t lose his job or anything, did he?" Edie shook her head quickly, actually smiling at the thought of Tom losing his job. "Are you serious? Hamblin Motors would fall apart without him." I reached out and pulled a discolored leaf from the philodendron that sat on the edge of my desk. I wagged it in front of Jolene to show her she’d missed it when she did her daily Gertie the Gardener check on all the office greenery. "That’s true about Hamblin’s," I agreed. Even I, the relative newcomer to Amhearst, knew that Tom was Hamblin’s mainstay. Of course, my major source for this information was Edie, and I recognized that she was a wee bit prejudiced. "He’s the best salesman they have," Edie said, unconsciously straightening her back with pride. "He just won a trip for two to Hawaii because of his winter doldrums sales. Only ten prizes were awarded in the whole country, and he won one."

Customer Reviews

Even wittier than Grafton!
Gayle Roper's Merry Kramer is one of the spunkiest, most loveable characters I've 'met' recently. She's got enough human foibles that I can relate to her, but she's clever and sharp enough that I admire her deeply. Roper's first-person style shows Merry Kramer off to full advantage and is perfect for this fast-paced story of adventure and intrigue. I couldn't put it down and smiled all the way through!

Hysterically Funny!!
Gayle Roper is one of my favorite authors, and this book is one of my absolute favorite books. As the third book in the series centering around Merry Kramer, this one is definetely the best. I laugh aloud at the same parts every time I reread this book.

Merry is a great character, well written and someone you can sympathize with. She's spunky, and not a perfect person like characters in other Christian books are. The mystery is intriguing but the characters are the main reason I keep coming back to this series. Other characters, including Curt and Jolene are equally as entertaining.

This is a very entertaining and uplifting book, and you don't have to worry about being preached to. My friend and I have very different reading tastes, but she loved this book just as much as I did! This is definetly a book to curl up on a winter day while drinking some hot chocolate!

Great Third Book
Merry is back for her third book, and she's still got what it takes to entertain. This book has everything you'd expect from the other two, great characters, great mystery, and personal problems for Merry that make life just a little more interesting. But she faces them all with her faith in the Lord, which helps her through everything. I was a little disappointed because the mystery takes a back seat to the plots involving abuse. Still, a very entertaining read that I plan to read many times myself.