Santa, Snowflakes, & Strychnine

Book excerpt: Christmas is fast approaching, but the joy and activity of the holiday season is marred by death. There’s a history between Katie’s landlady, Ida Clemashevski and her neighbor, the elegant Grace Loehr. The two hadn’t spoken in 40 years and had just recently made amends. But when they both bid on the same unusual art piece at the Holiday Gala, the claws come out again. Katie Wilk’s idea is to have the artist simply make another of his intricate creations, something along the same lines, but when she goes to his studio to propose the idea, she discovers he’s been murdered. Suspects abound, but then Grace also dies unexpectedly. Are the two deaths related? Katie’s landlady is the police chief’s main suspect for the crimes, and the only way to show proof of Ida’s innocence is to find the guilty party. It doesn’t look good. The clues mount up, and Katie and Maverick find themselves braving a bitter Minnesota winter storm in order to catch the killer. Will Christmas Eve be a time of joy or will Katie and her beloved retriever be caught in a deathtrap? Praise for the Katie and Maverick Cozy Mysteries: “Immediately captivating! Katie and Maverick are destined to become a notable amateur sleuth team in the mystery world.” –Connie Shelton, USA Today bestselling author “I thoroughly enjoyed this debut book by Mary Seifert! This well written and thoughtful story kept me engaged with fun characters, interesting information and mind and math puzzles. Looking forward to book two!” James, 5-star review “Fun read! The author has an authentic voice and has done her research. The plot covers many topics: dogs, history, the inner workings of hospitals, family dynamics, and more. I especially enjoyed the puzzles and little-known historical facts that were part of the story. Maverick, Movies & Murder kept my interest and left me wanting more. Highly recommend!” Beth, online 5-star review “…very much looking forward to her next!!! I can’t get enough of Ms. Seifert’s books!!” – proudarmymom, 5 stars “…plenty of unanticipated twists and turns. It kept [me] up reading to see what was going to happen next!” – RHN, 5 stars online