A Violet March (Samantha Rialto Mysteries)

Samantha Rialto and her best friend, Maxie Peters are looking for a place to live, determined to put the traumatic events of the last two months behind them. But things start to go horribly awry when they find a dead body soaking in the bathtub of a potential rental. On that same afternoon, Violet Arnold, one of Samantha’s favorite students, asks for help finding her missing father. Once again, Samantha is embroiled in another mystery.

She enlists the help of Skipper Turnbuckle, a crotchety private eye, and meets several colorful characters, including a bait shop worker with shockingly orange hair, members of a Russian mob, and a menopausal bakery owner.

To complicate matters further, Samantha has a letter from her ex-husband she has yet to open, AND she accidentally agrees to go out on a date with Doug, a fellow teacher, on the same day that her almost-boyfriend, Ben Parker, returns from training with the FBI.

To get through the week, Samantha will have to lean on her friends, face up to her ex-husband, and try not to get electrocuted by her own stun gun. Everything she holds dear will once again be threatened, and just when she thinks it’s all over, her world will be changed forever.