Death and the Walking Stick
Trudy Roundtree mystery series

By Linda Berry

     5’2, eyes of blue, 97 lbs and 81 years old. Sounds harmless, right? Not if it’s Althea Boatright and certainly not if she and Precious (her dog) are at the wheel of her Lincoln Continental. Althea, also referred to as the “unpleasant old turkey buzzard” by “Henry Huckabee, the Chief of Police of Ogeechee, Georgia” crushes the life out of a pedestrian at the Ogeechee post office. Police officer Trudy Roundtree takes the lead and questions all the suspects, including Precious. (Trudy goes the extra, strange mile just to get on Hen’s last nerve.) Hen and Trudy see the accident as a way to get Althea and her Lincoln off the road. Just when things begin to settle down, Althea is found in her locked home, dead. Eventually, the possibility of an accidental death is ruled out when Althea’s cane is discovered missing. As she investigates, Trudy discovers Althea wasn’t just a menace to the local PD. The suspect list is extensive and the case entertaining as Trudy gets some extra help. Hen’s mother -- who is Trudy’s Aunt Lulu -- and her bridge team - referred to as “leaky vessels” by Hen - try their hands at amateur sleuthing. Readers can expect an amusing lock door mystery full of quirky, down-home folks.

     The Trudy Roundtree series shows readers Trudy’s humorous view of life in a small town. Scenes like the ones with Trudy and the bridge team and the one with Trudy and the porch reveal the fun Linda Berry must be having when writing this series. If you enjoy the humor of Janet Evanovich or Roberta Isleib, you’ll like Linda Berry.