Melanie Bass Mystery

After their divorce, Visiting Nurse Melanie Bass must keep in contact with Dr. Artie Krapaneck, her philandering ex-husband as they share custody of her beloved dog, Bruno. When she arrives at a Connecticut highway rest stop to retrieve the dog for "her week" she discovers the body of her ex-husband along with that of an unknown woman. It seems that now Artie will finally be out of her life forever. He isn't. Melanie soon has reason to suspect that her gruesome discovery has put her own life, and Bruno's, in danger. She decides she must find out who killed Artie and why. She begins to fear that he may have left in her possession the link to something the killers want. As the police try to solve the murder, she uncovers information on her own. Melanie learns how much she never knew about the man she was married to for five years, a man she thought she knew so well. She comes face to face with his first wife, Lynn, a woman she never knew existed. However, with Lynn's help, as well as that of a kind and eligible veterinarian who is treating Bruno for PTSD, she takes on the killers before they kill both her and Bruno.

After the murder of her ex-husband is solved, visiting nurse Melanie Bass is confident she will never again cross paths with Detective Sunny Cody. She is shocked when the detective suddenly shows up on her doorstep to ask Melanie for a favor. What starts out as an assignment Detective Cody assures her will be quick and simple, instead soon puts Melanie, her dog Bruno, and Detective Cody herself in serious jeopardy. Melanie quickly becomes increasingly enmeshed in an investigation involving drugs, lies, and danger. To make things worse, Melanie's good friend Lynn Duncan is being stalked by an unknown man, and Melanie's love life is threatened by her commitment to helping Detective Cody. While compelled by what she feels is a moral and personal obligation to be involved with Detective Cody's investigation, Melanie must also find a balance in her personal life and avoid putting her own life in further jeopardy.

Visiting nurse Melanie Bass is slated to be maid of honor at her good friend Lynn Duncan's upcoming wedding to dermatologist Alex Drover. The wedding plans screech to a halt when Alex's sharp-tongued mother is murdered, and Lynn becomes the prime suspect. Melanie must now help clear her friend's name and at the same time avoid becoming the next suspect-or victim-as she learns there is more than one person with reason to want Mrs. Drover dead. Amidst the turmoil, Melanie also faces complications in her work life as she becomes suspicious that a recently hired young nurse at her home healthcare agency is hiding something that could endanger patients, the new nurse, and Melanie herself. Christine Falcone's short stories have appeared in publications such as Imagine, Lancrom Review, and Deadfall: Crime Stories by New England writers. Cutting Remarks is the third in her Melanie Bass Mystery series. Prior to her retirement she worked for nearly forty years as an RN in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She lives on the Connecticut Shoreline with her family and her dog Toby who is not nearly as well behaved as Bruno, the beloved canine in her mystery series.