Last Step Beyond the Pale

When her friendly greeting to the wannabe cowboy next door is met with raging hostility, Clementine Melville's lovely Victorian home is no longer the sanctuary she sought. The angry young man's Aunt Gladys, a recluse, gradually develops a friendship with her favorite local author by leaving notes and presents in the hide-y-hole of the oak tree between their yards. One is particularly disturbing. Unlike the characters you create in your murder mysteries, Ms. Melville, I know a real- life kil...