WHEN ZEFFIE GOT A CLUE

Handed a clue to an unsolved murder, Christy Castleman (When Bobbie Sang the Blues, 2007) discovers who killed a former neighbor.

Zeffie Adams comes into I Saw It First, the Florida panhandle’s premier junk shop, with a battered jewelry box. Christy pays more for the box than it is worth to help the kid selling it. Hidden in the lining, she finds a priceless clue to a cold case. The box once belonged to wealthy Annabell Strickland, neighbor to Christy’s grandmother, whose son Kirby was shot to death when the jewels were stolen. Kirby’s sister Ellen is thrilled that Christy’s find will encourage the police to reopen the case. Grateful that Kirby once saved her from drowning, the mystery writer and part-time sleuth dives into the investigation. Kirby had just hosted a party for the ten-year reunion of his high school football team when he was killed. Christy puts his teammates on her list of suspects along with Ellen’s husband Vince, who inherited Kirby’s job and wealth, and R.J. Wentworth, who married Kirby’s fiancée, Julie Clark. Trying to trace the path of the jewelry box, which Zeffie’s late mother may or may not have picked up in a yard sale, is not easy. But as she keeps digging, Christy finds the facts growing ever clearer and ever more dangerous.

A pleasant cozy with a slow pace but engaging characters.