Crime and Parchment

<p class=ql-align-center><span style=color: rgba(34 34 34 1)>***Nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel***</span></p><p class=ql-align-center><br></p><p class=ql-align-center><strong style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)>Rare books librarian Juniper Blume knows this much...an ancient Celtic manuscript shouldn't be in a Maryland cemetery.</strong><span style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)> </span></p><p class=ql-align-center><strong style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)>But that's exactly what her brother-in-law claims.</strong><span style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)> </span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)>Last year Juniper saw the 1200-year-old </span><em style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)>Book of Kells</em><span style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)> in Ireland. She learned how their bejeweled covers were stolen centuries ago never to be seen again. So how could they have ended up in Rose Mallow a small Chesapeake Bay town? Being Jewish the </span><em style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)>Book of Kells</em><span style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)> might not be her sacred text but as a rare books librarian the ancient book is still sacred to her making it important to Juniper to find out the truth. </span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)>Rose Mallow is the same place where Juniper used to summer with her sister Azalea and their grandmother Zinnia known as Nana Z. Ever since Nana Z passed away Juniper's avoided returning but her curiosity is greater than her grief so she heads down in her vintage convertible with her rescue dog Clover. </span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(166 166 166 1)>Juniper discovers that her sister Azalea has transformed their grandmother's Queen Anne style mansion into the Wildflower Inn backing up to the Chesapeake Bay. Although Juniper isn't much of a cook Azalea has kept their grandmother's legacy alive filling the house with the smells of East European Jewish treats like sweet kugels and tzimmes cake. Will coming back here feel like returning home or fill Juniper with a deeper sorrow? Can she apologize to her sister for not being there when she was needed most? </span></p>