Murder Stalks Chesapeake Bay Estate in Thrilling New Mystery Novel
FORT MYERS, Fla., June 9, 2010 — In the latest installment of her St. Martins, Maryland, Eastern Shore mystery series, "Death at Dames Hundred" (published by iUniverse), A. E. Pritchard peels back layers of motive that lead inexorably to murder as Ursula Tilghman, owner of historic Dames Hundred, decides to sell part of the estate to finance a memorial to her dead husband.
Powerful interests vie for the land that overlooks the Rehobeth River, gateway to the Chesapeake Bay. John Alexander Bassett, developer and ruthless community leader, covets the land as an addition to his exclusive, riverfront community and an extension of his domain. Stephen Tilghman, Ursula's stepson and pastor of the Dames Hundred church, envisions it as the riverfront site of a racially integrated "new town." Sarah Agnes Morrison, Dames Hundred resident and avid environmentalist, longs for Ursula to cede the land to the Nature Conservancy, and Claire Tilghman, Ursula's stepdaughter and eminent microbiologist at nearby St. Martins College, wants it to remain a pristine research preserve. Estate keeper Jared McAllam also wants the land untouched – essential to his lucrative drug running from the Bay to the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.
Daniel Pryor and Eurydice Smith – amateur sleuths introduced in Pritchard's first book, "Death's Dark Angel" (iUniverse 2007) – join the fray. Lovers now, yet aware of the fragility of their new relationship, they arrive at the Hundred to confront mutilated animals, then murder, as Claire finds Stephen poisoned in front of his church altar. Together with state trooper Celine Litowska – a woman with heart-rending secrets of her own – Dan and Eurydice race against time as death's scythe swings again and a local extremist, drunk on his white supremacy vision, wreaks his own vengeance on Dames Hundred. Follow the lives, loves and adventures of the St. Martins characters in Pritchard's latest compelling mystery novel, "Death at Dames Hundred."
About the Author
A. E. Pritchard graduated from the College of William and Mary and earned graduate degrees from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. An internationally recognized educational writer, college administrator and professor, Pritchard has published a test-taking skills program and a college textbook on Service Learning. Upon retiring from higher education, she embarked on a career in fiction with her mystery novel series – stories of characters who seek personal meaning and vital relationships in the face of dark forces that often lead to violence and murder. In addition to "Death at Dames Hundred," Pritchard has also published Death's "Dark Angel" (iUniverse). Her third novel in the series, "Zahira's Jihad," is due out in 2011. She and her husband have sailed their 32-foot ketch to Bermuda and cruised their 34-foot trawler from Maine to Florida. They now live on the Florida Gulf coast, where Pritchard administers "Lending Hands," a volunteer neighbor support program she created, writes plays for local community theater productions and supports dog parks for people and their pets.
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