The Tarkington Treasure (The Charlotte Ross Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Self Published
Paperback: 338 pages

Synopsis

“In the world of logic, it’s always our assumptions that lead us astray.”

A spooky old house, rumors of a hidden Civil War treasure, a neighbor’s murder, and an ex-fiancé falling unconscious at her feet—Charlotte Ross has her hands full when she’s invited to stay at her friend, Jane Marshall’s home while her apartment is being renovated.

Jane and her new fiancé have sold everything to move to the large estate she’d just inherited near the small town in Illinois, where she grew up. She’s always loved the house, but the cost of living in, and fixing up, a deteriorating old mansion is more than both their incomes combined. If she can’t come up with the money for the next property tax payment, she’ll be forced to give it up.

Charlotte is intent on winning back her ex, but her efforts are stymied when he’s suspected of murder.

The two couples soon discover the rambling old house holds more than one secret when they join forces to find the real killer—and the elusive, Tarkington treasure.

Guest Post

Today we welcome Evelyn and she gives us her thoughts on if it is possible to get away with murder.  

How Do You Get Away With Murder?

I have to confess, as a mystery author I have no idea. When I write a mystery, I always have the solution in mind before I begin, and then I write the story around it, so that my villains never get away with murder. If they did, it wouldn’t be a very good end to the story… or would it? Characters in a novel sometimes do. In Agatha Christie’s, And Then There Were None, the murderer does get away.

As a former member of the Agatha Christie Society, I’ve dissected many of her novels. It was interesting to see how she thought about murderers. According to her, most murderers are thoroughly nice people. Just ordinary folks like you or me. Very often it turns out these nice, ordinary people were in a tight place, or they wanted something very badly and had to kill to get it because there seemed to be no other way.

What about hatred as a motive for murder, you might ask? She says: Highly unlikely. You wouldn’t go around murdering people just because you disliked them. You might feel like it, but you wouldn’t actually go through with the evil deed.

Would a jealous hatred be different? Yes: That arises out of passion and frustration. People more often kill those they love than those they hate. Possibly because only the people you love can make your life truly unbearable.

And then there are times when murder turns out to be purely accidental.

I’m sure you’ve read mysteries containing one of these motives for murder: people caught in a tight place, a jealous hatred, or a murder that was accidental. Each of my mysteries has at least one of these motives. The Tarkington Treasure, has two of them, but I’m not going to tell you which two they are. You’ll have to find that out for yourself.

About the Author

Evelyn Cullet has been an author since high school when she wrote short stories. She began her first novel while attending college later in life and while working in the offices of a major soft drink company. Now, with early retirement, she can finally write full time. As a life-long mystery buff, she was a former member of the Agatha Christie Society, and is a current member of the National Chapter of Sisters In Crime. She writes cozy mysteries with warm romance and a little humor. When she’s not writing mysteries, reading them or reviewing them, she hosts other authors and their work on her writer’s blog.  She also plays the piano, is an amateur lapidary, and an organic gardener.

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