Stanzas and Scratches: A Purring with Poetry Mystery

A high-stakes corporate lawyer. A hairless cat with a nose for trouble. A killer who hides between the stanzas.

Darcy Thorne thought she had traded the cutthroat world of Manhattan litigation for a quiet life of lattes and literature in Oakhaven, Vermont. But when the town’s most flamboyant poet collapses mid-verse during her café’s monthly “Purring with Poetry Night,” Darcy’s legal instincts scream foul play.

The victim is Julian Vane, a man who treated poetry like a weapon and secrets like currency. The cause? A bloodless, clinical poison delivered via a "lucky" vintage spoon. The only witness? Baudelaire, Darcy’s intelligent (and highly opinionated) Sphynx cat, who seems more interested in the floorboards than the suspects.