A town has a life of its own. Did you know that? It is woven into a fabric made up of the interconnecting lives of those who live in it, and they create that life new every day. Every act changes it. Every person has something to contribute.

Or take away.

I am Queensville, a Michigan town nestled on the banks of the St. Clair River, which slips past my marina and docks in a silvery swoosh most days, except when it ices almost over in the depths of frigid winter. Then it gets real quiet, except for the crack of the ice as it shifts and shatters. I reach into the river where I share Heartbreak Island with the Canadian town across the St. Clair.

My life is mostly peaceful. My citizens walk their dogs along my streets, shouting greetings to each other. Folks love to potter about, visiting antique stores like the newest, Queensville Fine Antiques, run by Becca and Kevin Brevard, sister and brother-in-law to Jaymie Leighton Müller. They gather on the village green every December to light the holiday tree as a beacon of winter hope. In May they gather to take tea on the lawn of a historic house as they celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday, with the queen played by grande dame Mrs. Trelawney Bellwood.

And people rely on the Queensville Emporium. If they run out of eggs or butter or beans, the Emporium is there as it has been for well over a hundred years. And if they are ailing, the Queensville Pharmacy, run by the most reliable woman in Queensville, Valetta Nibley, Pharmacist, can provide them with a solution. She’s a shoulder to lean or cry on, a sturdy and intelligent friend, with a sympathetic ear.

She comes in early, goes home late, delivers medications, gives advice, and listens to problems.

So when I saw a woman huddled, dying, on the Emporium back step I knew it would affect Valetta, but I never saw coming the firestorm that would threaten to torch her career. She has always said a pharmacist holds the life of her clients in her hands, and she has always cradled those lives with the utmost care. But blame still finds Val in this instance because of accusations made by the unfortunate woman on the back step.

Fortunately, she has good friends, one of them, Jaymie Leighton Müller, will not let her be blamed for something she did not do. Together they will seek answers, meant to bring me peace, and allow my people to go about their peaceful lives within my boundaries.

A town holds many lives and knows many secrets, but this one… this one needs an expert to sniff out the truth. I trust Jaymie and Val and Mrs. Martha Stubbs to figure it out for me.

Sieve and Let Die, A Vintage Kitchen Mystery Book #11
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: October 2023
Format: Digital
Purchase Link

In the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of A Calculated Whisk, Jaymie’s not sure who to believe when every suspect’s alibi has as many holes as a sieve . . .

Vintage cookware collector Jaymie Müller is stunned when an irate woman accuses her pharmacist friend Val of tampering with her prescription. When more unfounded accusations follow, it seems clear the woman has a personal grudge against Val. But before they can figure out why, Jaymie and Val stumble upon the woman’s dead body on the steps of Val’s pharmacy. Given her altercations with the woman and the location of the body, the police naturally suspect Val.

Jaymie has heard rumors that the victim had become forgetful and erratic, but could that explain her death? And why was Val being framed as her murderer? Determined to find the clues that connect the woman’s strange behavior to her death, Jaymie begins questioning the people in her life—and soon suspects that the culprit is among them. But she’ll have to be careful about who she confronts, because while solving murders is hard work, there’s a killer on the loose who finds committing them all too easy . . .

Includes a vintage recipe!

About the author
Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson. Victoria is the bestselling author of four mystery series: the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, the Merry Muffin Mysteries, and A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder Mysteries. Visit her website at victoriahamiltonmysteries.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest releases.