Torie O'Shea

Torie O'Shea investigates the tangled roots of an ancient family tree. Torie O'Shea- genealogist and amateur sleuth- is having a killer of a day. The town gossip spreads the word that her sweet wheelchair-bound mother is having an affair-with the sheriff! Then quiet Marie Dijon is found dead at the foot of her basement stairs. Did she fall? Was she pushed? All Torie knows is that Marie had a family tree with royal roots completely foreign to a folksy Middle America town like New Kassel, Missouri. As foreign as, say...murder. But, nosiness in New Kassel is as native as the upcoming Oktoberfest. To Torie, the open door to Marie's house is more tempting than chocolate. Finding a hidden key and old documents in French make further investigating irresistible. But, while juggling her growing suspicions, a hectic job at the historical society, two kids, and a sexy husband, Torie overlooks the obvious. Curiosity killed the cat. Someone killed Marie Dijon. And now, Torie might know too much to live...

A ten-hour car trip with your eighty-year-old grandmother is never much fun, especially if you're seven months pregnant. But when Torie O'Shea's longtime family friend Clarissa Hart Campbell insists that she and Grandma Gert come for a visit at her West Virginia boarding house, they just can't say no to the 101-year-old dynamo. Upon their arrival, Torie and Gert find Clarissa has called together her entire family for the reading of her new will. But everything's happening too fast, even for Clari: the next morning, she's found murdered in bed. The new will stands, and her lawyer follows through on the old woman's wishes to settle an eighty-year-old debt to Torie's great-grandmother: The Panther Run Boarding House now belongs to Torie. Mystified, Torie must put her genealogy skills to work to determine what secrets worth killing for may be hiding in the dilapidated boarding house and the Campbell family story-before it's too late.

When genealogist Torie O'Shea gets an invitation from her favorite aunt, Sissy, to come and spend some time with her in Minnesota she jumps at the chance. She piles her husband and her father-in-law into the car, leaving her two daughters in the care of her mother back home in Missouri, and hits the road, looking forward to some relaxation and some family bonding. Once they arrive, Torie finds out that her aunt's invitation was not so innocent: Sissy has uncovered a 150-year-old diary in the attic of her home and is dying to find out who wrote it and where it came from. Certain she won't be able to find anything, Torie reluctantly dives in. She is immediately riveted by the author's story; a young Swedish woman living with her family in 1850s rural Minnesota, she had fallen in love with a man she couldn't have. When the diary ends abruptly with hints of brutal violence, Torie becomes enmeshed in a deadly mystery passed down through generations-and still festering today. Fans and newcomers to Rett MacPherson's cozy genealogy mysteries will delight in the inventive story and engaging characters that have come to characterize this wonderful series.

When genealogist Torie O'Shea returns home to New Kassell, Missouri, from a vacation in Minnesota, she finds two surprises: first, her mother-in-law is coming to town, and second, her mentor and boss, Sylvia, has finally passed away at the age of 102. Grief-stricken and further distressed by her mother-in-law's unannounced visit, Torie is dumbstruck when she learns that Sylvia has left all of her worldly possessions to Torie including the Gaheimer House, which houses the local historical society. With gigantic boxes of artifacts and paperwork dating back to the 1920's to sort through, Torie is quite overwhelmed. But cleaning out Sylvia's things, she finds something strange: an old postcard from the late twenties, addressed to Sylvia, with a photograph of a little girl on the front and an ominous message on the back. Torie quickly becomes determined to uncover the truth behind the mysterious photograph. Who is the little girl? And where was the photograph taken? Unable to make sense of her discovery, Torie's suspicions deepen when she learns that Sylvia hired a private detective and installed a security system just prior to her death. Was Sylvia's death natural or intentional? As Torie resolves to find out the truth, she learns that some of the people in her town are not necessarily what they seem to be, and it becomes clear that somebody wants her silenced. Filled with the intricate stories and engaging characters that have come to characterize her mysteries, once again, Rett MacPherson delivers a fascinating story that promises to delight fans and newcomers alike.

Torie O'Shea has her hands full. Aside from her new duties as president of the Historical Society in New Kassel, Missouri, and her interest in genealogy, she's having a new house built, coordinating the town's Oktoberfest, and coping with her teenage daughter, who's beginning to date. Then at the request of a local journalist, Torie takes on an assignment to research the families of her hometown's two mayoral candidates: incumbent Bill Castlereagh and his challenger, Sheriff Colin Brooke, who happens to be Torie's step-father. Before she can get anywhere on the politicians' genealogies, though, a body turns up and spoils the Oktoberfest parade. Sheriff Brooke discovers some disturbing information about the dead man. Meanwhile, Torie's research into Castlereagh's genealogy is turning up more questions than answers. As the case unravels, the mayor flees town and Torie is left with a shocking discovery that might lead to her own demise. Once again, Rett MacPherson's charming characters and twisting plot keep the town of New Kassel-and the reader-on edge, making Dead Man Running a delightful addition to the Torie O'Shea series.

With the Garden Club's First Annual Rose Show right around the corner and a historic house up for sale, Torie O'Shea, mother of three and president of the historical society in New Kassel, Missouri, has her hands full. Nosy by nature, Torie can't help but poke around the old Kendall house, rumored to contain rare Civil War artifacts and even rarer quilts that would make fantastic additions to the historic Gaheimer House that Torie runs. But, why stop there when the house itself would make such a wonderful addition to New Kassel's historical homes? It could even become a textile museum. Sadly, the house's history is as tragic as it is rich: In the 1920s, three twenty-something siblings committed suicide, and the more Torie uncovers, the more involved she becomes. Her curiosity draws her into some dark places, but it's a present-day crime that sends her racing to unravel exactly what happened to those three siblings before anyone turns up dead. The brilliant patchwork of characters and tightly stitched plots in Rett MacPherson's Died in the Wool will delight fans of this terrific series and win over new ones.