The Final Tap

Book excerpt: Kelsey Taps for Something Much Deadlier Than Sap March on Barton Farm can only mean one thing: maple sugar season. To combat the winter slump, resilient director Kelsey Cambridge organizes a Maple Sugar Festival, complete with school visits, pancake breakfasts, and a tree-tapping class. She hires curmudgeonly maple sugar expert Dr. Conrad Beeson to teach the workshop, despite misgivings over his unpleasant demeanor. It's a decision Kelsey ends up regretting when, before the first tree can be tapped for sap, Dr. Beeson turns up dead. His death threatens to shut down not only the festival, but also Barton Farm itself. Kelsey has no choice but to tap for the truth and solve the murder to escape an increasingly sticky situation. Praise: "[Flower's] a prolific, and facile, author...In addition to interesting characters and a seamless plot, there's plenty of fascinating lore about the whole process of converting sugar-maple sap into the syrup that is so highly valued."—Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine "A very entertaining murder mystery."—Suspense Magazine "As series protagonists go, Kelsey's role as the director of a niche nonprofit in northern Ohio is certainly unusual, but Flower makes it appealing by focusing on a close-knit community of people who care about their work and each other."—Booklist