• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Unlike the rest of the people in her small town, Ruth Mornay does not believe that the death of her sixty-four-year-old neighbour Beatrice was an accident. Word has it that Bea was swept away by the flooded Teeswater River, but as the head of the Teeswater River Embankment Rehabilitation Society Ruth knows her friend would never be so careless.

Bea’s godson Saul adds to Ruth’s suspicions when he claims that Bea had premonitions about her murder and has left Ruth a box of clues to figure out what really happened. But what could a frog-shaped sprinkler, a mismatched pair of ladies’ gloves, and an ugly flower picture made of human hair possibly have to do with Bea’s death? That’s the case Saul, Ruth, and Ruth’s wayward pet chicken Dorcas, have to crack.

Natalie Hyde writes fiction and non-fiction for middle-grade and young adult readers. Her fiction titles include Mine!, Saving Armpit, I Owe You One and Hockey Girl. She is also the author of over forty educational non-fiction books, as well as trade non-fiction titles: Cryptic Canada, Glow-in-the-Dark Creatures and Stay Strong: A Musician’s Journey from Congo to Canada. Her books have garnered award nominations in both Canada and the U.S. She lives in Flamborough, Ontario, with her family.

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