The Country Club Murders . . .
by
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It went by the pristine name The Country Club. The emphasis, of course, was on the first word. "The" – such a little word, but it said it all. There was no need for any more identification. It was totally explicit and irrevocably branded in the minds of members and non-members alike. It set the club apart, signaling immediately its uniqueness, placing it in a superior position to all others of its kind. It was situated on the better side of the affluent town of Corning Hills, which was itself in the wealthiest county of the state. Its existence, however, pre-dated that of the town. It had been built in the gracious eighteen-nineties as a fitting beginning for what was hoped would be a family dynasty, to oversee ample acreage and be a tribute to an equally ample fortune. When the crash came and manor houses were more than most individuals could support, the owner had with great sadness allowed it to slip from his grasp into the eager hands of the club’s founders. It stood far back from the road on a knoll, solid and properly awe-inspiring from the distance, an imposing edifice of stone and stucco. However, a close look at the gardens and the outside paint and indoors at the plush carpeting and the gilded mirrors revealed signs of seediness setting in. By its very exclusivity, The Country Club had placed itself in financial peril and thus always on the brink of an extinction akin to that of the dinosaur. Creeping decay notwithstanding, it was the last place one would envision as a murder site, and Grace Erikson was the least likely murder victim. But there it was. During the club’s traditional July Fourth Colonial Costume Ball, made more splendid by the arrival of that bicentennial year of nineteen-hundred-and- seventy-six, Grace Erikson was found dead, hanging by the neck from a branch of one of the many beech trees that adorned the rear of the property. Aldo Valeri, Roman Catholic and of northern Italian descent, had not and never would be a member of The Country Club. If truth be known, the first time he ever set foot on those sacrosanct grounds, that WASP fortress, was on the night of the murder in his capacity of chief of police. He was surprised at being there, at driving up the moon-splashed circular path. The building was brightly lit from within, but no sounds emanated to signal the presence of life. He got out of the car and walked to the main door, but, suddenly remembering where the murder had taken place, instead of entering, he took the path that ran along the side toward the small circle of light coming from the wooded area beyond.
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About the Book
Murder Grace Erikson? Unthinkable! She was the golden girl, the fairest of them all. Yet, on the night of The Country Club's July Fourth dinner dance, dedicated to the celebration of America's bicentennial, some revelers find her dead, hanging by her lovely neck. The "unthinkable" catapults the quiet, suburban town of Corning Hills into the headlines and forces its chief of police, Aldo Valeri, out of hiding. Aldo sets out to solve one murder only to be presented with two more, equally bizarre and obviously connected to the first. In the course of his investigation, he uncovers secrets that make many people suspect, but none accusable. He travels through a complex maze of clues with compulsive determination – daisies, two dead babies, appointment books, incongruous red lingerie, missing files – all the while trying to suppress a strong attraction to one of the key players. When he finally reaches the shattering solution, he is forced to face the further struggle of coming to terms with his personal guilt. The Country Club Murders . . . is much more than a traditionally-crafted "whodunit." It is social commentary, relationships, romance, a retrospective on a time obviously not so very different from ours, and an unusual voyage into the human psyche.
About the Author
A native New Yorker, Betty-Anne Wilkie started her post-college life as an advertising copywriter. She eventually left advertising to obtain a graduate degree and become a teacher. Though always specializing in English, she has taught a variety of subjects in numerous places – a one-room schoolhouse, a residential treatment center for schizophrenic adolescents, adult school in New York City, and college campuses. She is co-author of DOUBLE EXPOSURES, Readings for Developing Effective Writing, published by Harper/Collins in 1995. She recently left full-time teaching to concentrate more of her energy on writing projects. She lives in New Jersey, is married, and has two adult children. She is currently hard at work on another mystery novel.