The Christening Day Murder

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Former nun Christine Bennett is looking forward to the christening of her friend Maddie's baby. But when she goes to the church basement of the town that was flooded out thirty years before, Christine stumbles upon the skeletel remains of a body--the grim result of a thirty-year old murder. Trying to sort out the sordid puzzle from the past, Christine manages to unravel the dark secets of the once close-knit community, and also reveals a killer who's not afraid to kill again.... From Publishers Weekly Ex-nun Christine Bennett makes her third foray into amateur sleuthing in a tale that will delight fans of the American "cozy." Thirty years ago, the inhabitants of Studsburg, N.Y., all relocated when the town was flooded to create a reservoir. But drought has left the small town temporarily high and dry, and while visiting her childhood friend, Maddie Stifler, Chris pokes about and discovers the remains of a young woman hidden in the Catholic church. Disturbed by the local police's indifference to the fate of the unidentified woman, Chris begins making a few inquiries among former residents who still live nearby. Ex-residents make the town sound like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life but some balk at Chris's probing questions: is it because time gives memories a rosy tint, Chris wonders, or because old friends are closing ranks to protect one of their own? Although Chris's significant other, NYPD Sgt. Jack Brooks, lends a bit of practical assistance, Chris's own doggedness and her ability to zero in on suspicious discrepancies lead her to success along a trail that Harris ( The Good Friday Murder ) sprinkles with surprises up to the very end. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. From the Publisher I always look forward to a new mystery by Lee Harris. Her novels about ex-nun Christine Bennett are in that central range between cozy and hardboiled -- the perfect balance. Ever since I encountered Christine Bennett in THE GOOD FRIDAY MURDER, which was nominated for an Edgar Award as best first novel, I've been fascinated by the author's depiction and development of her heroine -- Christine matures in surprising (but always believeable ways) as the series continues. It would be hard to pick my favorite Lee Harris mystery, but certainly among my favorites is THE CHRISTENING DAY MURDER, in which a thirty-year-old unsolved murder has impact on present-day menace. --Joe Blades, Associate Publisher From the Inside Flap Former nun Christine Bennett is looking forward to the christening of her friend Maddie's baby. But when she goes to the church basement of the town that was flooded out thirty years before, Christine stumbles upon the skeletel remains of a body--the grim result of a thirty-year old murder. Trying to sort out the sordid puzzle from the past, Christine manages to unravel the dark secets of the once close-knit community, and also reveals a killer who's not afraid to kill again.... About the Author Lee Harris is the author of the mystery novels featuring ex-nun Christine Bennett, who first appeared in The Good Friday Murder , an Edgar Award nominee. She also writes the New York Mysteries, which debuted with Murder in Hell’s Kitchen . In 2001, Lee Harris received the Romantic Times magazine Career Achievement Award for her distinguished contribution to crime writing. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 1 It began with a phone call out of the blue, a voice I hadn’t heard for many months. The phone rang as I was clearing up my dinner dishes. I grabbed a towel, rubbing my fingers on it as I went. “Kix?” a somewhat breathless voice said in my ear. I smiled at the name. People who call me Kix knew me when I was a kid or else were fellow nuns at St. Stephen’s. Everyone else calls me Chris. The breathlessness had given her away. “Maddie? Is that you?” “It is and I’ve done it. I’m a mother!” She sounded as though she’d just won an Olympic gold. “It’s wonderful,” my friend said. “He’s big and beautiful