Quaker linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau is out for a run along the Ashford, MA sea bluffs when she stumbles across a dead body. The dead man turns out to be Charles Heard, one of the Trustees for an old land trust. He’s also the insurance agent Lauren had a very heated argument with just recently. With no clues as to who killed Charles Heard, the police consider Lauren one of their suspects.
Lauren knows she didn’t kill Charles Heard, but she’s not sure the police will come to that same conclusion, so she begins her own investigation. What she discovers is that Charles Heard and the other Trustees are very unpopular in town because residents believe the land trust is being mismanaged.
When Lauren indulges herself and goes clamming with her karate teacher, she discovers another attack victim. This time, the victim is the caretaker of the home where she used the phone to report the first murder. This victim, however, isn’t dead, but in a coma.
As Lauren digs deeper into the death of Charles Heard, she is nearly hit by a speeding car while she’s on a run. Later, she discovers there may be a link to her own father’s disappearance from more than ten years earlier. With the facts in the case not making sense, Lauren begins to wonder if she’ll solve the case before she becomes the next victim.
“Bluffing is Murder,” the second Lauren Rousseau Mystery, offers insight into the life and customs of a Quaker as well as a traditional murder mystery puzzle. Fans of small-town murder mysteries can add a new location to their lists of most-dangerous towns to live in.
FTC Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided by its publisher.
