FEATURED AUTHOR: SUSAN VAN KIRK

ABOUT THE BOOK

Secrets long buried surround the murder of teenage Melanie Tippitt. The daughter of a wealthy family in a small town, her lifeless body was found floating in Tippitt Pond in the summer of 1971. Six people were there that day, and one was convicted of her murder. Case closed.
 
Now, forty-five years later, Beth Russell, a freelance researcher and genealogist, is brought to the town by a lawyer who believes Russell is the daughter of Melanie Tippitt and long-lost heir to the Tippitt fortune. Soon Beth finds herself surrounded by people who want her gone as soon as possible, people with a great deal to lose. The more they push, the more determined Beth is to discover the truth. With the help of a handsome detective, Beth vows to uncover what happened that day at Tippitt Pond.

The ghostly presence of Melanie Tippitt, a stranger watching from the woods, and the discovery of secrets in Tippitt House make for a suspense-filled investigation where Beth discovers . . . a death at Tippit Pond changed everything.



Book Details:


Title: A Death at Tippitt Pond


Author: Susan Van Kirk


Genre: cozy mystery, amateur sleuth


Series: Sweet Iron Mysteries, book 1



Publisher: Encircle Publications
 (June 15, 2019)

Page count: 234 pages


LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH SUSAN VAN KIRK

A few of your favorite things: my children, my grandchildren, libraries, my small town, my friends, my editor.
Things you need to throw out: most of the contents of my closets, financial/legal papers from decades ago, unrecognizable cords from 1990s technology.


Things you need in order to write: quiet, my laptop, liquid, a good idea, Dictionary.com.
Things that hamper your writing: forgetting to turn off my phone, the doorbell, a sudden memory of something I forgot to do yesterday, playing bridge.



Things you love about writing: editing (former English teacher not much reformed), having written, solving plot problems, talking with people about books.
Things you hate about writing: promotion, promotion, promotion.

Easiest thing about being a writer: research—I love to learn new things.

Hardest thing about being a writer: patience with publishers and agents.

Things you love about where you live (the Midwest): the seasons, the people in my small town, the memories, the humorous material for books.
Things that make you want to move: the winters.

Words that describe you: reflective, disciplined, a detail person, loyal friend, helpful (early Girl Scout).
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: allergic to dogs.

Favorite music: Classic 60s and 70s rock.
Music that make your ears bleed: country, especially twangy.

Something you’re really good at: teaching.

Something you’re really bad at: anything that requires coordination; that would include all sports.


Things you always put in your books: a word or phrase from one of my children or grandchildren. They try to stump me.
Things you never put in your books: graphic violence or sex.

Things to say to an author: I stayed up until 2 a.m. reading your book. Couldn’t put it down.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: 
I found a mistake on page 256 in the fourth line of your book. Seriously? No one caught it?

Best thing you’ve ever done: become a mother.

Biggest mistake: spending time on regrets.




OTHER BOOKS BY SUSAN VAN KIRK


Three May Keep a Secret

Marry in Haste

Death Takes No Bribes

The Locket: From the Casebook of TJ Sweeney




ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Susan Van Kirk lives at the center of the universe—the Midwest—and writes during the ridiculously cold, snowy, icy winters. Why leave the house and break something? Her Endurance mysteries are humorous cozies about a retired schoolteacher in the small town of Endurance who finds herself in the middle of murders. Her new Sweet Iron series about Beth Russell combines history and mystery in her debut, A Death at Tippitt Pond. Van Kirk taught for 44 years in high school and college, raised three children, has low blood pressure (a miracle after all that), and is blissfully retired.


Connect with Susan:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 


Buy the book:
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble