To the Manor Dead

From Publishers Weekly This deliciously oddball first in a new series from Stuart (The Hour Between) introduces witty Janet Petrocelli, who finds high crimes and nasty misdemeanors thrive in even the most bucolic landscapes. After leaving a stressful psychotherapy practice in the Big Apple, Janet settles in the Hudson Valley's sleepy Sawyerville. Hoping for a peaceful life with her pets, she opens Janet's Planet, a collectibles shop, and starts dating a laid-back landscape architect who operates œon Rip Van Winkle time.  When Janet agrees to inspect some antiques at Westward Farm for an elderly local heiress, Daphne Livingston, Janet discovers the rambling place is creepier than Grey Gardens, and Daphne's feuding family makes Little Edie and Big Edie look almost Rockwellesque in comparison. Janet can't resist turning amateur sleuth after finding Daphne hanging from the rafters of her octagonal folly. Readers will be left wondering what fun she'll get into next time. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. About the Author Sebastian Stuart (Cambridge, MA) has been a full-time writer for more than twenty years. He is the author of plays, screenplays, political satire, and critically acclaimed novels, and was the credited ghostwriter of the novel