Showing results by author "Patricia K. Batta" in All Categories

Winters are typically quiet and uneventful in Northern Michigan - but when Marge Christensen arrives in Traverse City to visit her mother, who is rehabilitating from a series of small strokes, Marge and her aunt soon become embroiled in trying to solve the deaths of two old ladies. Although the women resided in different nursing homes, is there a connection - or are the witnesses simply senile old ladies who are imagining intruders?

Forty-seven-year-old housewife Marge Christensen finds her husband, Gene, dead in their garage, slumped over the steering wheel of his still running BMW. The police rule the death a suicide. Marge does not believe Gene killed himself and determines to discover what really happened to him. In the process, she discovers all their money is missing. So, what was Gene doing before he died? Why did he die? And what was she going to do now?

Marge Christensen and her husband, Pete Peterson, want to adopt their two foster sons - but Eric's grandfather is threatening to get custody of the 12-year-old boy. To prevent this from happening, Marge and Eric take a road trip to Pasco, Washington, a typically quiet rural area near the Cascade Range, to visit with him. Before they can even say hello, the two find themselves staring down the barrel of a shotgun. In less than 24 hours, that same gun is used to kill a man.

Marge Christensen's employer and friend, Joshua Hurley, is found dead in the framing shop where she works. Her wedding to Detective Pete Peterson, who heads up the investigation, is in two weeks. Marge jumps into the investigation, unable to contemplate her wedding until the case is solved. In mourning, and struggling not to step too far over the line with the police, Marge also has to deal with an interfering mother-in-law and look for a new home.

When Marge Christensen arrives at Ocean Shores on Friday afternoon, it feels like the perfect place to get away from it all for a week and do a little painting. But, on Sunday afternoon, a man's body is discovered on the beach. The man has been murdered, and when Marge's son, Robert, is implicated in the murder, Marge must delve into the tangle of relationships, motives, and opportunity to uncover the truth.

When Marge Christensen discovers a body buried in a park in Bellevue, Washington, she has no intention of getting involved. Until her best friend Lori's husband is accused of the crime, that is. He claims his arrest is Marge's fault because she told the police what she knew about his activities. So Marge and Lori set out, with perseverance and a disregard for their own safety, to discover what really happened.