Phoebe's Knee

Tish McWhinny #1

by Barbara Comfort

"Tish McWhinny is Miss Marple without the cuteness, brought up to date and plunked down in Vermont. She is gutsy and audacious...." --Margaret Maron When B. Comfort's The Cashmere Kid appeared in 1993, Publishers Weekly wrote, "Vermont goat-herding may not sound like material for a gripping mystery, but in Comfort's hands it achieves that dimension." Now readers who missed the earlier adventures of Tish McWhinny can enjoy the very first, also set in the pristine, picture-perfect village of Lofton. The tranquility of this southern Vermont haven is disturbed, however, when Tish's newest neighbor arrives and proves to be an entire cult. Calling itself The Ring of Right, its intent and purposes are anything by apparent. Tish first senses that something is odd when a young reporter arrives to write an article on the "Ringers" and promptly disappears. Then, walking in the woods, Tish tumbles into what on examination seems to be an ancient Druid cave. By the time the inevitable murder takes place and Tish herself looks like the suspect, the little town has been transformed into a hotbed of intrigue.

228 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1994

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When artist Tish McWhinny has a bad fall, she arrives in the hospital talking about the young reporter who was with her. Nobody else saw him, and though they're too polite to say that she's having delusions, that's certainly what they think. Tish is sure that the new neighbors--cult members of something called "The Ring of Right"--are responsible, and tries to infiltrate their large estate, first in the guise of painting their leader's portrait. But someone seems to want to kill the mysterious Alan Smith, and when they succeed the police suspect Tish.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

ill bk Set in Lofton, vermont Tish McWhinny has a new neighbor a cult calling itself the ring of the right meanwhile ancient Celt ruins/cave painting etc are found ayoung reporter disappears does the ring have himor what

[Denise M.]

AKA: B. Comfort