Death by Pallet Knife
Written locally by Corwin Stoppel
In this much-awaited sequel to The Great Saugatuck Murder Mystery, Doctor Horace Balfour and his family return to Saugatuck, Michigan where he anticipates a quiet summer with his granddaughter Phoebe. Nothing went according to plan. Part of the problem was the petty vandalism taking place at Ox-Bow where Phoebe’s mother was the interim director. Far more disquieting was the arrival of a woman from Doctor Horace’s past. Beatrix had also pursued a medical career as a pathologist. From the start she demonstrated an eccentric personality, abrupt speech that bordered on rudeness, and alarmingly brilliant mind that kept everyone on edge. Even stranger was her obsession with a painting in the lounge of the Old Inn. Horace thought she was another of Saugatuck’s eccentrics; his brother Theo feared she was dangerous.Then, at the conclusion of an Ox-Bow open house, a body is discovered on the meadow, a palette knife in the victim’s heart. He was without identification. Was it a robbery that ended in murder, or something far more sinister? Who, of the many possible suspects, had a motive? Once again, Horace and Theo Balfour are called upon to solve the crime.