A Field Guide to Death and Deceit: A Novel

A Field Guide to Death and Deceit: A Novel

Widower and anthropologist Harry Lancaster and his Gen Z colleague Emma are back for more murder and mayhem when they stumble upon a dead farmer. This delightful sequel to A Field Guide to Murder is perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Benjamin Stevenson. When an odd request leads Harry Lancaster to agree to meet his former sweetheart Willow at a farm on the outskirts of town, Emma’s suspicions run high, and she insists on joining him. Instead of Willow greeting them when they arrive, they discover the farm's owner dead, with a corn rake embedded in his back. After being interrogated by the police, Harry and Emma return to his home to find a bereft Willow, who admits she lost her life savings in a real estate scam involving the farm. Worried Willow will become the main murder suspect, Harry decides to help her, despite Emma’s concerns. To bring the swindlers—and murderer—to justice, Harry recruits his potentially shady, financial-whiz brother and a neighborhood teenage hacker. Then Willow’s realtor is declared missing, and Harry’s brother is caught up in the fray. As Harry, Emma, and team unearth clues, they increasingly dodge the police, stalkers, and danger in their race to save Willow and Harry’s brother before anyone else turns up dead. Michelle L. Cullen has lived, traveled, and studied all over the world, from working as a (decent if powered by enough espresso) bilingual secretary in Paris; to backpacking around Europe, Central America; and Southern Africa, to helping rebuild communities after war throughout Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific. She earned her master’s degree in anthropology at Melbourne University in Australia and her PhD in sociology at the London School of Economics in England. A fan of adventure, she has a black belt in Taekwondo, has summited nine-hundred-feet rock climbing, and has flown a helicopter (once, during a lesson, for five terrifying minutes). She currently lives in Annapolis, Maryland, where she’s either doing yoga, playing outside, or plotting murder.