The Elusive Relation

In her third adventure, Emma Winberry travels to London.

She receives a bizarre letter from Lindsey Bellingham, a woman in the UK, who claims to be the daughter of Emma’s brother-in-law. She is being threatened by some unknown persons and is trying to find her father.

Nate Sandler, Emma’s significant other, thinks it’s a scam and tells Emma to forget all about it. But, she knows from experience that she can’t.

When Nate is asked to speak at a seminar in Paris, he and Emma decide to visit London. They meet Lindsey and accompany her to her home in Roydon, a village dating back to the 16th century. They find that Isabel, the young cousin,  is covered with long red hair, a condition called hypertrichosis. Someone is threatening to harm Isabel unless Lindsey gives them a large sum of money. To complicate matters, a wealthy American wants to buy Bellingham House, but Lindsey refuses to sell.

Emma’s visit is cut short when her granddaughter is injured in an accident. The child recovers quickly and Emma tries to put Lindsey and her problems out of her mind.

When she receives a frantic phone call that Isabel has been kidnapped, Emma knows she must return. Nate cannot go with her because of prior commitments, so Emma takes Tracie Adams, a young girl she befriended two years previously.

The action escalates when Tracie stumbles across the abductors and, she too, is taken. The girls end up in an abandoned shed in the country and are rescued by Miss Weatherby, an old woman living in the area.

Tracie knows the kidnappers are searching for them and it will only be a matter of time before they come to the cottage. Despite a severe thunderstorm, she starts out for help but sprains her ankle and is rescued by two local boys.

They take her to their home and alert the police who find Miss Weatherby injured and Isabel hidden in a root cellar. The girl is ill, both in body and mind.

Two of the kidnappers are apprehended but the third escapes to the continent. Isabel retreats into a fantasy world and the doctor fears for her sanity.

After the storm, Emma finds crumbling plaster in one of the closets. Hidden there is a valuable coin. Is this why the American wants the house? And how did he know it was there?

Emma is frustrated that she must go back home without helping Lindsey solve any of these problems. She tries to reach out to Isabel, but the girl believes she is surrounded by evil. Her delusions escalate as another storm hits the area and she hears the house calling to her.

Follow Emma to the surprising climax to the story as she risks her life to save Isabel from herself.

Praise for The Elusive Relation:

"Helen Osterman’s The Elusive Relation brings back her delightful senior sleuth, Emma Winberry, this time solving a mystery across the pond with inspiration from her ever present guardian angel.
Emma, Nate, mystery-what’s not to love?"
-Julie Hyzy
Author of Buffalo West Wing, fourth in the White House Chef Mysteries

"Cozy lovers, The Elusive Relation, will delight you. Emma Winberry is an adorable senior, amateur sleuth. Her travels to Roydon (England) and her encounter with British ways, will amuse you."
-L.C.Hayden
Award winning author of the Harry Bronson mystery series.
 
Five Star/Cengage Learning
ISBN: 43282-511-9        $25.99

The Stranger in the Opera House

Emma Winberry, The Accidental Sleuth, returns for another adventure in The Stranger in the Opera House. This time she and her significant other, Nate Sandler, are supernumeraries at the Midwest Opera for an upcoming production of  The Ghosts of Versailles. This title turns prophetic when the lead soprano screams that there is a strange man lurking in her dressing room. Although a police search turns up no evidence that anyone was there, the cast and crew are left on edge. And nerves become more frayed as the ‘stranger’ is seem againand again but never caught despite numerous attempts to apprehend him. Emma’s sixth sense tells her he may be more than he seems. The rehearsals continue to be fraught with mishaps. When a large sum of money is stolen from the office and a guard seriously injured, everyone assumes it is the work of the mysterious ‘stranger.’ Everyone except Emma.

After finding an old trunk in a storeroom in the basement with documents dating back to the Underground Railroad, someone assaults the librarian in an attempt to steal them. The ‘stranger’ is again blamed, but Emma becomes convinced the apparition is a lost soul trapped between two worlds. Her Guardian Angel tells her she must help him cross over. But how?

Adding to the mystery is a figure in black secretly leaving packages in a hidden niche. Can Emma solve this puzzle and release the ‘stranger’ at the same time?

Determined to uncover the truth, Emma and friends are led on a life-threatening adventure that could very well be their last.

Praise for Stanger in the Opera House:

"Emma and Nate’s second case (The Accidental Sleuth 2007) is quietly enjoyable entertainment for cozy fans."
—Kirkus Review

"A mysterious Presence is plaguing the rehearsals of the Midwest Opera Company in Chicago. The Lakeshore Center for the Performing Arts may have been built over an old Underground Railway Station. Backstage ghosts and artistic temperaments! What fun!"
—Barbara D’Amato
Chicago author of Deaths of a Thousand Cuts

"Nothing beats a night at the opera or a good mystery story. The Stranger in the Opera House by Helen Osterman gives you both. Follow the politely persistent Emma Winberry as she delves into the backstage intricacies and dark corners of the Midwest Opera Company and you’ll be treated to as good a behind-the-scenes look at opera as you’ll get. Just like a good opera, The Stranger in the Opera House is full of surprises and peopled with compelling characters. Brava Helen Osterman!"
—Jack Zimmerman
Author of Gods of the Andes and Subscriber Relations Manager, Lyric Opera of Chicago

"Emma Winberry is Miss Marple reincarnated … this time as a with-it woman with a Chicago condo rather than a cottage in St. Mary Mead. Her curmudgeonly significant other, Nate Sandler, is a perfect sleuthing partner."
—Diana Vickery, Cozy Library

The Stranger in the Opera House (ISBN 978-1-59414-816-3)
Five Star/Gale Publishing
www.gale.com/fivestar
Now available for Kindle and Nook. Get the Kindle version or the Nook Books version.

The Accidental Sleuth

Sixty-something Emma Winberry gets through life’s ups and downs by depending on her sixth sense, the patience of her significant other, Nate Sandler, and assistance from her Guardian Angel to keep her out of trouble. Most of the time.

When she leaves her old house in suburban Chicago and moves to a posh condo on the lakefront, she discovers that even her angelic protector might be a bit overmatched. Emma finds herself mixed up with a self-abusing, anorexic teenage neighbor, the girl’s cruel uncle, a couple of tough hoodlums who think Emma has something they need, and a cadre of mysterious homeless people.

With the help of Nate, an old friend, and her celestial back-up, Emma begins to figure things out. She knows the trouble is somehow tied in with the report of an inventor murdered in an alley.

But can even her Guardian Angel keep her out of harm’s way as the complex puzzle unravels to an exciting climax involving treachery, deceit, and murder?

Praise for The Accidental Sleuth:

“The Accidental Sleuth is pure delight. Emma Winberry and her significant other, Nate, tiptoe on the edge of the dark side in this one, tangling with some bad crooks, troubled teens, and homeless allies. It’s a cozy that even a tough guy like me can enjoy.”
          — Michael Black, author of A Final Judgment

“Helen Osterman presents an authentic picture of the art of filmmaking as she weaves it into her clever mystery. Her eye for detail and fresh take on the city of Chicago gives one a sense of actually being there. The reader will definitely want more of Emma and Nate’s adventures.”
          — P. Scott Sakamoto, Hollywood Cinematographer

ISBN 978-1-59414-581-0
Now available for Kindle and Nook. Get the Kindle Edition or the Nook Books Version

Available in bookstores, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble

Five Star Publishing
www.gale.com/fivestar