Praise for Murder Under the Fume Hood
This charming mystery is full of delightful characters, a real twist on the victim that takes you by surprise, and a most unusual place for a murder - a chemistry lab fume hood! This charming series gently inserts basic practices of Quakerism into a most unlikely setting for murder.
---Linda Sears, member Eastern Hills Quaker Meeting
Follow Murder Under the Fume Hood's campus minister Ruthalice (Ali) Michels as she unravels the mysterious death of missionary Anna Minster and her cat, Cuspidor. Ali's intuition and faith pepper this cozy as she sidles up with the nosy Missy Springer, proprietress of The Leaky Cup and snuggles with her devoted husband, Clifford P. Mowry, PhD – all the while gathering evidence to solve this compelling murder mystery. Patricia Thomas's deft pacing, well-drawn characters, and surprise twists and turns make this a must-read for her fans!
---Debra Williamson, : writer/editor and English teacher at Edison State Community College.
Synopsis
Her obituary was as short and sweet as she was.
Thus begins the third episode in The Pastor and Professor Quaker Mystery series. With the discovery of a body under the fume hood in Dalton Science Hall, Laboratory #4, Ruthalice (Ali) Michels, campus minister at Emerick College, is drawn deeper and deeper into a sordid ‘this sort of thing never happens at Emerick College’ tragedy. Ms. Anna Minster retired in June and returned to her childhood home in Oakes Quarry after 30 years of faithful missionary service in Africa. Cuspidor, the little stray calico cat Anna shepherded through US customs to be her companion in old age, was found cradled in her mistress’ arms on the cold marble bench of the fume hood.
Because it is none other than Clifford P. Mowry, PhD, tenured biology faculty who stumbled upon the corpse and made the initial 911 call to the Oakes Quarry Police dispatcher, he too carries a sense of personal involvement in solving this morbidly fascinating case. As Ali and Lieutenant Rosemary (Rosi) Harris resume their uneasy partnership in investigation, Ruthalice comes to suspect that the brief obituary in the Boone County Bugle doesn’t begin to tell the story of the convoluted life of Anna Hannah Minster.
Author’s Note: All the characters in this mystery, with the exception of the ‘regulars’, are actual exits off interstate freeways. It was my fascination with Anna Minster, Exit 94 off I-71 which sent me down this path. Milan Oakville quickly joined Anna on my trips between Wilmington and Lansing, Michigan; others join the list of characters from trips down I-75 south through Tennessee and various highways around Seattle, WA.
Purchase
Murder Under the Fume Hood is not yet ready for purchase. I expect it to become available at the Friends United Meeting Bookstore in 2022. Please check back on this site or on my Facebook page to find out when it will be available.