The Provenance of Murder

Murder in the small town of Mud Creek, Ohio, turns out to be a blessing for the retail antique business. The owners of the Tulley Antiques and Collectibles Shoppe might abide the apparently coincidental uptick if not for the tourists whose morbid curiosity about the murder weapons-antiques-didn’t keep reminding them that they’re profiting in blood antiques. The crimes are all too strange, and complicated, for Sheriff Joe Donovan, a man perfectly adequate at his job when it comes to patrolling the grounds at tractor shows. The well-intentioned Sheriff has several suspects, among them Tap Tippler, a Gulf War veteran who’s in love with a Buddhist belly dancer known for her shaky reputation. The Sheriff can’t bring himself to impose on such a beautiful romance.

For the local war hero, commerce with belly dancer Kylie quickly turns to love and a need to rescue her from her questionable, yet independent, life of indulgence. If only he could reconcile his moral ambivalence about loving a.professional. As if building trust weren’t hard enough, Tap faces other obstacles. Like convincing Sheriff Donovan that he’s not a murderer. Or sending a message to a certain criminal who wants a piece of Kylie’s earnings. Or fighting the Mayor in a land grab through eminent domain. Or, most difficult, defending himself against sexual misconduct accusations by Toni Yates, a promiscuous-and treacherously vengeful-teenage girl who’s developed a crush on him. Any, or a combination, of these problems would crush a lesser man.