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right before.
These will be fine. Just tell us how much we owe you.”
    “I included a book from some of your favorite authors,
plus I added books by a couple of authors you haven’t tried yet, ones I think
you’ll like. Let’s see, that comes to $287.54 each.” To some people that might
sound like a lot of money, but all of the books were hardbacks, and a couple of
them were early editions of books written a long time ago.
    Lou and I paid, but lingered a while talking books
with Mrs. Evans, and a couple of customers who came in that we’d met before. It
was fifteen minutes before we grabbed our books and headed for home. Well, I
took Lou home, then went home and plopped down at the dining room table. I
usually opt for some place more comfy, but I wanted a flat surface to lay the
books on.
    Neither Lou nor I bothered to look at any of the books
while we were still in the store. I was excited to see what new treasures I
owned. I reached into the bag and plucked the first book, A Little Class on
Murder by Carolyn Hart. I’d read some of the others from Hart’s Death on
Demand series, and thoroughly enjoyed them, so I was glad to have another
one.
    Each time I bought another bagful of books, my routine
was the same. When I got home, I took out one book at a time, glanced at it for
a moment, and then put it aside. After I’d removed all the books from the bag,
I’d sit down in the chair and read the dust jacket to see what the book was
about. Then, I’d call Lou and one of us would suggest which offering to read
first.
    I reached back into the bag, and pulled out another
title. This too was a Carolyn Hart mystery, but one from her Henrie O series, which I liked even better than Death on Demand. Death on Demand
was the name of a bookstore devoted solely to mysteries, much like Scene of the
Crime, but in the Death on Demand series, the bookstore owner, a young
woman, finds herself trying to solve a murder that takes place on the resort
island where she lives, an island much like Hilton Head. Henrie O., on the
other hand, is an elderly woman who gets mixed up in murder and may have to
travel to do so. My new Henri O. title was Death on Lovers’ Lane.
    I continued to reach into the bag and pull out another
selection until the bag was empty. When I finished, I found out that Mrs. Evans
had included books by my two favorite authors of contemporary British
mysteries, Martha Grimes and P.D. James, as well as a British author new to me,
Jill McGown. I looked forward to reading The Anodyne Necklace by Grimes, Unnatural Causes by James, and A Perfect Match by McGown.
    Other contemporary selections included Murder With
Peacocks by Donna Andrews, an author new to me, The Camel Club by
David Baldacci, an author I’d heard of but had yet to read, Loves Music,
Loves To Dance by Mary Higgins Clark, Tell No One by Harlan Coben, The
Firm by John Grisham, and A Diet To Die For by Joan Hess. I laughed
when I read that title. My newfound commitment to losing weight made it a
fitting time to read that book.
    Mrs. Evans didn’t forget to include some of the great
classic authors, as she added The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha
Christie, The Case of the Curious Bride by Erle Stanley Gardner, Patient
in Room 18 by Mignon Eberhart, and The Bishop Murder Case by S.S.
Van Dine.
    I counted the books, fourteen in all. I planned to get
busy reading, and read as many books as I could before those bodies were
discovered, provided there were any bodies to discover.
    I sat down and read the dust jacket or back cover of
each book. All of them sounded great. If only I could lose weight reading.
Since Lou got a head start on me, I was sure he was anxiously awaiting my call.
    “Did you make it through all of yours yet, Lou?”
    “No, Cy, I was waiting to start reading until after
you called.”
    “Smart aleck. I know you haven’t started reading yet,
but do you have any idea where we should start?”
    “Well, just so you remember what your top