‘No Mistaking Death’ is a mystery with history | Book Talk
What’s so special about the Mission House? A creaky old cabin in a nowhere Ohio town. The local developer wants to tear it down; the director of the county historical society has applied for protective landmark designation. This is where Marian Warner comes in, in “No Mistaking Death,” first in an announced series by Shelley Costa.
Marian is a private investigator whose half-sister is in charge of approving landmark claims, sending Marian on fact-finding missions. That’s what is going on here, as Marion goes to tiny Carthage to see why there’s been a three-year-long battle over this. When she arrives, she learns that a man had been found dead there the morning before.
An intense letter-writing campaign has raged about the Mission House’s status, with preservationists claiming that the cabin is the first Jesuit mission house in the territory that is now Ohio. Opponents say it’s just a shack. Marian learns that her longtime friend Charlie is the newspaper editor in Carthage, which gives her some local connections but also whips up memories of their unfulfilled mutual crush — more on Charlie’s side.
Marian is an experienced detective, but she has a habit of sharing the evidence she’s found with possible suspects. In one instance, she makes a late-night visit to the Mission House with a man she barely knows and comes to the uncomfortable realization that she hasn’t brought her gun. She also isn’t above a little breaking and entering.
Marian thinks she has discovered the motive for the murder and the authenticity of the historic landmark claim, and then there’s another murder. Secrets from her past bubble up, making her unsure — as she should be — of her confidence in the resolution of the many tangled threads.
Using the name Stephanie Cole, Costa writes the Italian Restaurant mystery series (“You Cannoli Die Once” was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel), keeping readers’ interest with delightful comic touches that makes her work among the best in the cozy mystery category. Here, the wry humor is enhanced by Marian’s deeply felt conscience and sense of duty.
“No Mistaking Death” (302 pages, softcover) costs $16.95 from Level Best Books. Costa also has been nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Short Story. Costa earned a Ph.D. in English from Case Western Reserve University.
Events
Hudson Library & Historical Society (96 Library St.): Actress Valerie Bertinelli, author of “Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today,” appears in a Zoom event at 7 p.m. Tuesday. At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts appears in person to talk about “Fight Like a Mother: How a Grassroots Movement Took On the Gun Lobby, and Why Women Will Change the World.” Register at hudsonlibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Mayfield branch, 500 SOM Center Road): Kathleen Kerestman of Perry, author of “Creepy Cat’s Macabre Travels: Prowling Around Haunted Towers, Crumbling Castles, and Ghoulish Graveyards,” talks about “Salem Past and Present” and the Salem Witch Trials, 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (North Royalton branch, 5071 Wallings Road): Case Western Reserve University professor Sharona Hoffman talks about “Aging with a Plan: How a Little Thought Today Can Vastly Improve Your Tomorrow,” 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Berea branch, 7 Berea Commons): David Lee Morgan signs “Breaking Through the Lines: The Marion Motley Story,” 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Shaker Heights Public Library (16500 Van Aken Road): Burt Griffin, former assistant counsel to the Warren Commission, talks about “JFK, Oswald, Ruby: Politics, Prejudice and Truth,” 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. From 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday, David Ewbank, professor emeritus of English literature at Kent State University, talks about “The Lamb Cycle: What the Great English Poets Would Have Written About Mary and Her Lamb (Had They Thought of It First.” Register at shakerlibrary.org.
Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library: Erin Alladin talks about the picture book “Outside, You Notice”) in a virtual interactive nature presentation, recommended for children 3-6 years old, 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday. Register at heightslibrary.org.
Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library: Cookbook author and cooking show host Lidia Bastianich (“Lidia’s: From Our Family Table to Yours”): joins the Online Author Talk Series with “Life, Love, Family, and Food,” 7 p.m. Thursday. Register at smfpl.org.
Rocky River Public Library (1600 Hampton Road): Cleveland author Claire McMillan (“The Gilded Age,” based on Edith Wharton’s “House of Mirth”) discusses her novel “Anatomy of a Blackbird,” based on true-life painters and occultists Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington, 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch, 1876 S. Green Road, South Euclid): Sharona Hoffman talks about “Aging with a Plan,” 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Music Box Supper Club (1148 Main Ave., Cleveland): “Encyclopedia of Cleveland History” editors John Grabowski and Ryan Chamberlain join the Cleveland Stories Dinner Party series with “Cleveland Sports Legends: Jim Brown, Jesse Owens & Others,” 7 p.m. Thursday. Dinner is $25; the lecture is free. Go to musicboxcle.com.
Main Street Berlin: Brandy Gleason signs “100 Things to Do in Amish Country Before You Die” at the Berlin Harvest Fest, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Visible Voice Books (2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland): Francis Elizabeth launches “Drugs and Other Things to Do in Cleveland,” 7 p.m. Friday.
Barberton Public Library (602 W. Park Ave.): A Local Author Fair features about 20 authors, including Irv Korman, Kathryn Long, Mindy McGinnis and Jane Turzillo, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. See the list at barbertonlibrary.org.
Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): The final Author Alley event features about 25 children’s authors and illustrators, noon Saturday. See the list at loganberrybooks.com.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson): M.J. Palma signs her children’s book “Day Switch,” 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Fireside Book Shop (29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls): Hedva Barenholtz Levy signs “Maybe It’s Your Medications: How to Avoid Unnecessary Drug Therapy and Adverse Drug Reactions,” 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
North Canton Public Library (208 Lincoln Way E.): Larry Eley, author (with M.T. Eley) of the teen novel “Mifflin Drift,” talks about the writing and creative process, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Registration suggested at massillonlibrary.org.
Cleveland Public Library (Hough branch, 6530 Lexington Ave.): Vince Guerrieri talks about “Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports: Bottlegate, Bedbugs, and Burying the Pennant,” 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday.
The Akron-Summit County Public Library has announced the return of its “Main Event: Many Voices” series with historical fiction writer Marie Benedict (“The First Ladies”), Sept. 25; Jade Dellinger and David Giffels (“The Beginning Was the End: Devo in Ohio”), Oct. 23; and Yiyun Li (“The Book of Goose”), Nov. 6. Each will be at 8 p.m.; see details and register at akronlibrary.org.
Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘No Mistaking Death’ by Shelley Costa is a mystery with history
