To Hell in a Handbasket

by Beth Groundwater

Overview

It's snow accident when a young woman's icy demise sends Claire's vacation to hell in a handbasket

To Hell in a Handbasket, book two in the Claire Hanover Mystery series. Skiing with her family in Breckenridge, Colorado, gift basket designer Claire Hanover hears a terrified scream cut the frigid mountain air. She is horror-stricken to find Stephanie Contino, the sister of her daughter's boyfriend, dead on the slopes. While everyone else assumes the death was an accident, Claire is suspicious of the extra ski tracks that cross dangerously into Stephanie's path. But the police are skeptical of foul play, even as more signs point to murder.

When incriminating clues put her daughter Judy in danger, Claire investigates and finds trouble around every mogul. Between interviewing a daredevil snowboarder and giving ski lessons to a drug boss, she uncovers a chilling conspiracy that could turn deadly for her family.

Praise for Claire Hanover Mystery series:

"Will appeal to Desperate Housewives fans and those who like cozies with a bit of spice"-Booklist

"Groundwater's second leaves the bunny slope behind, offering some genuine black-diamond thrills."-Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645404590
Publisher:	Speaking Volumes
Publication date:	05/10/2021
Series:	Claire Hanover Mystery , #2
Pages:	314
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Beth Groundwater (Colorado Springs, CO) was an avid "river rat" in the 1980s. Her book, A Real Basket Case (Five Star Publishing), was a 2007 Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel. She is the author of several award-winning stories and holds key positions in local chapters of Mystery Writers of America and other writing associations.

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Editorial Reviews

A family's ski vacation turns deadly when they find out their social connections are a little more connected than they thought. All gift-basket designer Claire Hanover (A Real Basket Case, 2007) wants is some quality time with her family, especially daughter Judy, who's been away in Paris for her senior year of college. A ski trip to Breckenridge seems ideal: close enough to their Colorado Springs home for Judy to swing by and do her laundry on the way from the airport, with plenty of opportunity for family bonding as moguls zing past on the upper slopes of Ptarmigan. But willful Judy has more interest in bonding with tall, dark Nick Contino than with Claire, and it's only because Nick and his father Anthony are off skiing the back bowls of Copper Mountain that Judy agrees to spend the day on Peak Eight with her parents and Nick's sister Stephanie. When the two girls start down Ptarmigan's Claimjumper run, Stephanie crashes into a tree, sustaining fatal injuries. Though Judy thinks a showoff snowboarder ran Stephanie off the trail, Claire finds ski tracks leading from the crash site into the woods. Her suspicions grow when the snowboarder, Boyd Naylor, is run down by an SUV with plates similar to Anthony's. The Continos' Russian pal Ivanov, who supplied the vehicle to them in return for unspecified favors, brings out Claire's inner Mama Bear, determined to protect her cub. Groundwater's second leaves the bunny slope behind, offering some genuine black-diamond thrills.

Kirkus Reviews

"Groundwater's second leaves the bunny slope behind, offering some genuine black-diamond thrills."—Kirkus Reviews

"Will appeal to Desperate Housewives fans and those who like cozies with a bit of spice."—Booklist

From the Publisher