It's spring 1942. Caroline Graham is six months pregnant, overweight, irritable, and most decidedly bored with her "delicate" condition. She hates being tied down and resents her husband Cyril and her cousin Edward for being off on assignment and having fun while she's confined to the village. She grows more restless each day, and her good friend and confidant Leslie Atwater does his best to boost her spirits but fails miserably. What Caroline needs is a problem to solve, "something juicy" to challenge her mind. And, of course, that's exactly what she gets.<br><br>Be careful what you wish for.<br><br>First there's a rash of poison pen letters circulating in the village. Librarian Elspeth Hunter receives a letter, and is the first to die, presumably by her own hand. Other deaths follow. Are the sudden deaths connected to the letters? As weeks pass and the bodies mount, Caroline and Leslie discover a pattern that suggests something more sinister is at work. With Leslie's help, Caroline must use all her cunning and put her life at risk to uncover a cold-blooded murderer -- a remorseless killer who continues to raise the stakes in a deadly game of malice.

A Deadly Game of Malice

Flora plopped herself down with a thud that seemed to say she’d settled in for the duration. “You’re quite a lovely lady, Moira. The vicar has a jewel in you and I hope he knows it.”


A sudden blotch of red started up Moira’s neck. “I think he does. He says he appreciates me.” Then she wandered off to greet other guests.


Flora continued to reminisce about Holly with Caroline as sounding board. “Her heart wasn’t good, you see. I knew early on. Holly confided in me. Always managed to miss a beat or two she used to say. She had no relatives to speak of. However, there was that…No. It’s gone. Odd how at my age we seem to recall fragments, but never whole bits of things. With both husbands dead and buried I wonder what will happen to her estate? Who will come forth to claim it?”


Caroline tsk-tsked and shook her head. “I’ve no idea, really.” Taking advantage of a break in Flora’s monologue, she turned toward Leslie and whispered, “They’ll be coming out of the woodwork. Wait and see.”


Chapter 13