Genealogist and mother of three Torie O’Shea is out birding on the cliffs of the Mississippi River as part of New Kassell, Missouri’s first ever bird-watching Olympics, when someone starts shooting at her and her partner. Disoriented and running for their lives, they stumble over an antique trunk and discover a badly beaten dead body stuffed inside. Soon after this disturbing event, musicologist Glen Morgan shows up at the Kendall House, Torie’s new textile museum, claiming to be Torie’s cousin and to have proof that Torie’s grandfather secretly may have written a number of popular songs for the Morgan Family Players, who were famous country music singers. Being a genealogist and the head of the local historical society, Torie doesn’t appreciate anyone shaking up a family tree that she has spent years putting together, but Glen’s old recordings are more than she can resist. After a little digging in the library and some serious snooping into the shooting, Torie starts to uncover secrets about her family and the town that even she didn’t know. Rett MacPherson’s intricate plots and delightful small-town characters with long family histories hit all of the right notes in The Blood Ballad, the newest installment in her terrific Torie O’Shea series. Praise for Rett MacPherson “Torie’s determined historical detective work will absorb cozy readers.” ---Publishers Weekly on Died in the Wool “MacPherson deftly ties together fascinating historical facts, colorful characters, and a suspenseful plot. This series seems to get more and more enjoyable with age.” ---Booklist on Thicker than Water “Delightful . . . Weaving the story and the characters into the believable minutiae of small-town life, MacPherson provides a stellar example of the traditional cozy.” ---Publishers Weekly on Blood Relations “A slice of Americana as warm and comforting as apple pie à la mode.” ---Booklist on Blood Relations “O’Shea has developed into a thoroughly likable character. . . . Long may she snoop.” --- St. Louis Post-Dispatch on A Comedy of Heirs Genealogist and mother of three Torie O Shea is out birding on the cliffs of the Mississippi River as part of New Kassell, Missouri s first ever bird-watching Olympics, when someone starts shooting at her and her partner. Disoriented and running for their lives, they stumble over an antique trunk and discover a badly beaten dead body stuffed inside. Soon after this disturbing event, musicologist Glen Morgan shows up at the Kendall House, Torie s new textile museum, claiming to be Torie s cousin and to have proof that Torie s grandfather secretly may have written a number of popular songs for the Morgan Family Players, who were famous country music singers. Being a genealogist and the head of the local historical society, Torie doesn t appreciate anyone shaking up a family tree that she has spent years putting together, but Glen s old recordings are more than she can resist. After a little digging in the library and some serious snooping into the shooting, Torie starts to uncover secrets about her family and the town that even she didn t know. Rett MacPherson s intricate plots and delightful small-town characters with long family histories hit all of the right notes in The Blood Ballad, the newest installment in her terrific Torie O Shea series. Praise for Rett MacPherson “Torie’s determined historical detective work will absorb cozy readers.” ---Publishers Weekly on Died in the Wool “MacPherson deftly ties together fascinating historical facts, colorful characters, and a suspenseful plot. This series seems to get more and more enjoyable with age.” ---Booklist on Thicker than Water “Delightful . . . Weaving the story and the characters into the believable minutiae of small-town life, MacPherson provides a stellar example of the traditional cozy.” ---Publishers Weekly on Blood Relations “A slice of Americana as warm and comforting as apple pie à la mode.” ---Booklist on Blood Relations “O’Shea has developed into a thoroughly likable character. . . . Long may she snoop.” --- St. Louis Post-Dispatch on A Comedy of Heirs RETT MACPHERSON is the author of ten previous Torie O’Shea novels. She lives with her husband and three children in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Chapter 1 Eighty-two years ago, Isabelle Mercer was a girl like many other girls of the day. She was about to be married. Her father had just become mayor of New Kassel and she read the St. Louis society pages every day. Faithfully,” Rachel said. She stood in my living room, wrapped in a shower curtain and wearing her hair piled on top of her head in a big loose bun. “Her fiancé came from the glitzy world of Westmoreland and Portland in St. Louis, and Isabelle Mercer wanted to fit in terribly. Then one night after she had spent the evening at her friend Verna’s house, Isabelle disappeared into the night, never to be seen again.” When my daughter had finished her little sp