Death across the Chesapeake

In the latest Max Hurlock Roaring 20s Mystery, set in 1926, the Hurlocks are back on Maryland's sleepy Eastern Shore to settle down to a quiet life after years of solving murders. But when a local stockbroker is killed in his locked office in a building owned by the wealthy and eccentric Stilwells, the Easton police know they have a delicate situation on their hands, and turn to Max and Allison for help. Several unhappy investors, a soon-to-be ex-wife, and a disappointed lady friend of the victim all have motives, and there seems to be some connection to the Stilwells themselves and their mysterious and well-guarded waterfront estate, Casa Leone. Max tries to put the pieces together, while Allison helps the mayor fend off the sensation-seeking press. The pressure mounts, but no one can say who killed the stockbroker, or even how he did it. Add to the mix a man from Allison's past, an unlikely New York art dealer with a passion for mysteries, some ravenous reporters, a walk-in safe that seems to hold nothing of value, a book found at the crime scene that shouldn't be there, and a small, unexplained pile of plaster dust, and it soon becomes clear that Max's retirement from detective work was premature. The Max Hurlock Roaring 20s Mysteries are based on real-life cases and are set in the lawless Jazz Age, when illegal liquor gave rise to organized crime, bootleggers and rumrunners evaded the Prohibition Police, and flappers danced the night away in speakeasies. Though living on Maryland's deceptively quiet Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, Max and Allison Hurlock get drawn into mysterious murder cases across the country. The end notes of each book provide a summary of the real life case on which the story is based.