An aging stripper’s fresh corpse turns up in an old family tomb at Boston Common in this “first-rate suspense whodunit” (TheCincinnati Post).
Like many old New England families, the Kellings live to die. Although their family vault is spacious and comfortable, it will not do for Sarah Kelling’s Great-Uncle Frederick. In his will, he demands to be buried inside the ancient family tomb at Boston Common, which hasn’t admitted a new member in over a century. But when the Kellings crack the old vault’s door, they find a recently built brick wall—and behind it lays a surprisingly fresh corpse, a skeleton with rubies in its teeth.
Her name was Ruby Redd, and many years ago she was the toast of Boston’s burlesque scene. Her murder case is ice cold, but when Sarah begins investigating it, she finds that the fiery passions behind Ruby’s death still burn white hot. With the help of art-fraud investigator Max Bittersohn, Sarah will solve the mystery of the stripper’s murder—or take her own place in the family vault.
“A first-rate suspense whodunit. . . . Well-written.” —The Cincinnati Post
“The screwball mystery is Charlotte MacLeod’s cup of tea.” —Chicago Tribune
“The epitome of the ‘cozy’ mystery.” —Mostly Murder
Charlotte MacLeod (1922–2005) was an international-bestselling author of cozy mysteries. Born in Canada, she moved to Boston as a child and lived in New England most of her life. After graduating from college, she made a career in advertising, writing copy for the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company before moving on to Boston firm N. H. Miller & Co., where she rose to the rank of vice president. In her spare time, MacLeod wrote short stories, and in 1964 she publl³T