Civility Rules (A Harlow Brothers Mystery Book 1)

Murder meets farce in the first Harlow Brothers mystery. When former football player turned etiquette author, Edward Harlow, arrives at Inglenook Resort to give a lecture about all things genteel, the discovery of a corpse in the guest room next door sends his ordered world spinning out of control. His loyal secretary and brother, Nicholas, scrambles to keep the author's reputation unsullied by this ultimate breech in manners, but soon the investigation turns into a sibling competition, and the price for losing may be death. Everybody loves Aunt Civility's etiquette books, but no one has ever met the author. That's because Aunt Civility is really the short-tempered Edward Harlow, a secret shared only by his publisher and his younger brother, Nicholas. As far as the public knows, Aunt Civility is a recluse, and so Edward makes select appearances as her official representative, with Nicholas along as his secretary. Edward's latest appearance is at the Victorian Preservation Society's annual convention, held at the isolated Inglenook Resort. The guests are snowed in before the society members arrive, and when dead body turns up in the room next door, Edward is in danger of losing his manners. Will an association with murderthe ultimate unpleasantnesssully Aunt Civility's reputation? Like a good secretary, Nicholas will do whatever it takes to keep the boss happy, but as the body count rises, so does this secretary's chances of becoming the next victim. "Snappy prose laced with wry humor, and equally witty dialog." Meet the Harlow Brothers. Edward, a former college linebacker and ghost writer of a popular etiquette series, makes public appearances on behalf of the fictitious Aunt Civility as her nephew. His younger brother, Nicholas, is his secretary, personal assistant, and lackey. When the brothers arrive at the isolated Inglenook Resort for a lecture on all things genteel, the discovery of a corpse in the guest room next door sends Edward's ordered world spinning out of control. With Edward in danger of losing his manners (and blowing his cover), Nicholas scrambles to keep the author's reputation unsullied and convinces him to team up to solve the crime. But soon the investigation turns into a sibling competition, and the price for losing is death. Murder meets farce in this first Harlow Brothers mystery.