Description

Christmas is coming to the Western New York village of Cascade Springs and so is the longawaited wedding of Charming Books proprietor Violet Waverly and police chief David Rainwater Grandma Daisy and Violets best friend Sadie go all out to make the nuptials the event of the seasonwhether Violet likes it or not But the reception becomes memorable for all the wrong reasons when a womans dead body floats by on the frigid Niagara River

Violet is shocked to recognize the deceased as a mysterious woman who visited Charming Books two days before the wedding toting a rare first edition of Henry David Thoreaus Walden Well aware that a mint condition copy could be worth more than 14000 Violet told the woman she would have to have the book appraised before she could consider buying it Most displeased the woman tucked the precious tome under her arm and stormed out of the shop Now shes dead and an enigmatic message scrawled in pen upon her palm reads They stole my book

Its a confounding case indeed But fortunately Violet can draw on the resources of her bookshops magical consciousness which communicates clues to Violet via quotes from Walden With Emerson the tuxedo cat and Faulkner the crow at her side Violet sets out to recover the priceless book by solving a murder most transcendental