The Fool Dies Last

Sisters Hope and Summer Bailey, the protagonists of this breezy series launch from Miller (the Moonshine mysteries), run Bailey’s Boutique, “a small mystic shop that sold crystals, candles, herbs, and the like” in Asheville, N.C. While Hope still reads customers’ palms to predict their future, she’s abandoned using tarot cards after a traumatic experience that’s left unspecified for most of the book. Then Roberta King, a regular boutique patron, dies from anaphylactic shock after being served dinner at the town community center, though she displayed some difficulty breathing before eating it. The police question Hope after noticing the tarot card featuring the Fool, which represents “freedom and new beginnings,” sticking out of Roberta’s pocketbook. When another woman dies, apparently from a similar cause and is also found with the Fool card on her, both fatalities are treated as homicides, and Hope and Summer turn sleuth. A subplot involving a hunky young doctor provides some romantic heat, though the solution is a bit of a letdown. Fans of Steven Hockensmith’s Tarot mystery series may want to check out this cozy. Agent: Kari Stuart, ICM Partners. (Apr.)