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

Leslie saw Clive’s hands turn into fists.


Have to get to Caroline. Now. He took a deep breath, and, with both hands pressed firmly against Clive’s chest, pushed him through the pub’s front window. If Leslie weren’t in such a desperate state, he would have appreciated the look of amazement on Clive Langdon’s face as he tumbled backwards into the pub.


He raced on. 17: An Awkward Conversation


Slowly, the unlocked bathroom door opened.


“We might as well dispense with formalities,” Caroline said. “Come on in, Winnie, or do you prefer Miss Winifred Fain, heiress to the Armstrong fortune?”


“Either is fine,” Winnie said and calmly walked over and perched on the toilet by the tub, her eyes not straying from Caroline. “That was rather foolish, signing your name. What possessed you?”


“I like things to be above board. Out in the open. Woman to woman so to speak. Wanted you to know I knew you’d murdered three innocent people.”


Chapter 21