Mrs. Odboddy and the Conniving Candidate
Series: Mrs. Odboddy Mysteries #5
Author: Elaine Faber
Genre: Cozy Historical Mystery
Setting: Europe
Release Date: October 7, 2024, by Michael L. Faber
Pages: 262
Summary:
As the war continues to rage in Europe, Election Day approaches in Newbury. Among other inequities, the Newbury City Council makes it difficult for local women to obtain business licenses even for home-bases businesses. Mrs. Odboddy decides to run for the vacant city council seat, but she has no idea what political obstacles she will face. The trouble starts, first with disasters in her home, to violence and racism against her friends, and then theft charges are filed against her!
To make matters worse, her granddaughter’s old boyfriend has returned to town declaring his unwanted, undying love. His heroic responses to multiple adverse events affecting the family make it difficult for Katherine to send him packing.
Agnes suspects her political opponent is behind all the trouble, including the state’s attempts to remove their beloved ward, Mattie. It seems that Agnes is up against a conniving opponent who will stop at nothing to prevent her winning the election. How can she prevail against such sinister deeds? Is winning an election worth it when her family is at risk?
Join Agnes as she faces overwhelming odds in her efforts to bring much needed change to Newbury.
Excerpt
It was time to take the offensive. Agnes had allowed Faggenbacher to annoy and harass her long enough. What to do? What to do?
She thought about the morning she visited Faggenbacher’s gas station. She put her finger to her lip and closed her eyes. Something niggled at the back of her mind? What was it?
Something about the warehouse! That’s it! The warehouse was filled with tires and boxes marked car parts. With war time rationing, purchasing tires required a ration coupon and were limited as to how many tires one could buy in a year. How would Faggenbacher sell so many tires and car parts that that his warehouse was stacked to the ceiling? Tires were a hot commodity on the black market. Could he be involved in selling black market tires and car parts?
It’s not as if the man’s scruples prevented him from profiting by the black market. She considered reporting her suspicions to Chief Waddlemucker and then discarded the idea. She would have to handle this on her own. The question was, how?
She paced from the living room into the kitchen and back again. She would need to get into the warehouse to prove he was dealing black market items. Wouldn’t it be great if she could catch him in the act of receiving stolen goods? Not likely. But, the situation demanded another ‘Agnes Operation’ to scope out the warehouse and gather evidence.
What would she need to break into the warehouse later tonight? Were there bars over the warehouse windows? She would likely need to pick the lock on the back door. Good thing she still had that dandy set of lock picks she’d ordered from the Popular Mechanics magazine.
What’s next? A good flashlight, and her Easter gloves so she wouldn’t leave fingerprints. Maybe a sharp knife to cut open a box or two, and a cloth bag to carry out a couple of smaller black market items. She should probably wear a long overcoat and slouch hat, in case someone saw her lurking around the warehouse. Better yet, something smeared on her face so she couldn’t be identified.
It wouldn’t be easy breaking into the warehouse, but the risk was worth it if she could prove Faggenbacher’s skullduggery.
Her heart beat faster as she visualized creeping into the back parking lot, entering the warehouse, and locating all the incriminating plunder that would put Faggenbacher away for a decade or two. He’d be lucky to get out of the slammer by Christmas, 1963! She’d win the election by default and influence the city council into all sorts of new ways to aid the Newbury citizens, particularly women keeping the home fires burning while their men were at war. A grin spread across Agnes’s face and she chuckled at the thought of Faggenbacher behind bars.
Mrs. Odboddy’s Mysteries
About the Author
Elaine Faber, an award-winning author, lives in Elk Grove, CA with her husband and feline companions. She is a member of Sisters in Crime (SIC),, Northern California Publishers and Authors (NCPA), and Elk Grove Writers Guild (EGWG). She has published ten cozy mystery novels, an anthology of cat stories, and multiple short stories in twenty-one independent anthologies.
Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Facebook
Giveaway
Prize: 3 Digital Copies of Mrs. Odboddy and the Conniving Candidate: A WWII Tale of Political Shenanigans and Snookery (Mrs. Odboddy Mysteries) by Elaine Faber- US Only
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thanks for sharing my novel with your readers. I know they would enjoy this humorous historical fiction. Mrs. Odboddy is a hoot!!