num_pages: 278
description: "You're a librarian, not a detective," Catherine Penny's daughter reminds her. But Catherine, suddenly single in her sixties, finds it easy to slip into sleuthing mode when she leaves behind New York City and a failed marriage for a lovely 17th century cottage in the idyllic English village of Far Wychwood.  But behind the town's quaint stone walls and lace-curtained windows lurk dark secrets and whispers of witchcraft. And when her crusty neighbor George Crocker dies in a tragic fire, Catherine alone suspects arson. Lacking hard evidence, the police pay little attention, and the villagers swear she must be mistaken. Catherine, however, is one feisty expatriate American who leaves no stone unturned when circumstances point to murder. She may not be Miss Marple--yet--but her ingenious knack for uncovering the truth is about to take Far Wychwood by storm!
language: English
title: Arson and Old Lace
titlecomplete: Arson and Old Lace (Far Wychwood, #1)
characters: Catherine Penny
genres: Fiction, Mystery, British Literature, Cozy Mystery, Adult, Crime
ratings_count: 274
places: Far Wychwood
series: Far Wychwood
awards: awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Agatha Award
category: Best First Novel
publisher: Pocket Books