Moving Can Be Murder

Praise for The First Baby Boomer Mystery

Retirement Can Be Murder

“Susan Santangelo uses great characters,
humor, and sort of a ‘Desperate Housewives’ backdrop to create a
hilarious mystery…. An entertaining and light-hearted read from a
real pro. The Baby Boomer mysteries promise to be as germane as
Murder She Wrote. It would make a great television series.”

–Midwest Book Review (five-star review)

“Santangelo has come up with an intriguing
premise, drawing on the much-publicized fact that the baby boomer
generation will soon be facing retirement, and she develops it
cleverly….Especially enjoyable features of this debut are the
little humorous headings that begin each chapter. We’ll look
forward to more Boomer mysteries in the years to come….Pure fun—and
don’t be surprised if retired sleuths become the next big
trend.”

–
www.Booklist.com

“Susan Santangelo captures the everyday lives
of Baby Boomers in
Retirement Can Be Murder….
Be
prepared to feel at home.”

–
Dotsie Bregel, founder, National
Association of Baby Boomer Women

“This is a fun chick lit investigative tale
starring Carol Andrews super sleuth supported by an eccentric bunch
of BBs (baby boomers), the cop and the daughter. Carol tells the
tale in an amusing frantic way that adds to the enjoyment of a fine
lighthearted whodunit that affirms that “every wife has a story”
and Carol's first is entertaining.”

–Harriet Klausner, national book critic

“The over-50 crowd will love this….I love
this lighthearted mystery. Susan Santangelo combines humor and
mystery to create a great read. I am so glad to see a female lead
character over 50….This is a must read!”

–Readers’ Favorite

“Not since picking up one of Janet
Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books have I ever laughed or enjoyed a
book so much as Susan Santangelo’s
Retirement Can Be
Murder
.”

–Suspense Magazine

“Santangelo … captures well the anxiety of a
wife who must face the reality of her life turning upside down.
Good thing she has her friends to help.”

–
Blog Critics

“Finally a cozy mystery with a heroine who’s
middle-aged, married, and a mother….What really makes
Retirement Can be Murder
special is the author’s uncanny
knack for finding humor in everyday situations….One of the funniest
cozies I’ve ever read, and yet all of the humor flows naturally
from the characters, the plot, and the dialogue.”

–Patricia Rockwell, author, Sounds of
Murder

“Susan Santangelo may be the next Jessica
Fletcher, the mystery writer and amateur detective portrayed by
Angela Lansbury in the award-winning television series Murder She
Wrote…. Susan’s found a niche in the mystery-writing genre that
just might find its way to the television screen, judging by the
popularity of her first book,
Retirement Can Be
Murder
.”

–Shoreline Times

I’d like to thank the following...

My Personal Beloveds: Joe, Dave, Mark, Sandy,
Jacob and Rebecca. You are all blessings in my life.

Mazie Bloom, my godmother, aunt, and avid
mystery reader, who gave me my first Nancy Drew book many years
ago.

Jan Fable, classmate, friend, and therapist
extraordinaire, for answering all my questions about domestic
violence. Any errors are mine.

The mailing team at the West Dennis, MA post
office – Dave, Doug, Sue, and Tom, for taking such tender loving
care of all my books. And for teaching me the importance of
Delivery Confirmation.

Molly McKeown, friend and fellow Lilly
Pulitzer enthusiast, for sharing her show house expertise.

Sister Beth Fischer, who helped me bring
Sister Rose to life.

Lynn Pray, Pineridge English Cockers, for
adding our baby, Boomer, to the pack.

Elizabeth Moisan, author of Master of the
Sweet Trade, and talented artist, for the wonderful book cover
artwork. And Joyce and Ron Elliot, whose beautiful porch and white
rockers continue to be the cover’s inspiration.

The Paperback Café really exists, in the
Connecticut shoreline town of Old Saybrook. I’ve taken the liberty
of moving the Café to Fairport. Hope Russell and the staff don’t
mind.

Everybody at the Cape Cod Hospital Thrift
Shop, past and present.

All my pals at the Barnstable Branch of the
Cape Cod Hospital Auxiliary. And especially everyone from the
Breast Cancer Survival Center.

The First Readers Club, especially Marti
Baker, Nina Marino, Sandy Pendergast, Rhea Marrison, and Marie
Sherman.

Marlene Stern, whose courage and faith
inspires me every day.

Gwenn Friss, Cape Cod Times Food Editor, who
came up with the brilliant idea of a recipe contest for this book.
And to everyone who entered – the recipes are all yummy and you’re
all winners.

Special thanks to the thousands of readers
who were so positive about the first book in the Baby Boomer
mystery series, Retirement Can Be Murder, and who shared their
stories with me at countless book events and via the Internet.

And to everyone who e-mailed me with terrific
chapter headings. Keep them coming!

Can Be
Murder

Every Wife Has A Story

A Carol and Jim Andrews Baby Boomer
Mystery

Second in the Series

Susan Santangelo

Moving Can Be Murder

A Baby Boomer Mysteries Press Book

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Baby Boomer Mysteries trade paperback
edition/First Printing, May 2011

PUBLISHED BY

Baby Boomer Mysteries Press

P.O. Box 1491, West Dennis, MA

www.babyboomermysteries.com

This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places and incidents are

either the product of the author’s
imagination or used fictitiously.

All rights reserved. Copyright 2011 by Susan
Santangelo

No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any

information storage and retrieval system,
without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of
brief quotations in articles or reviews of a critical nature.

Cover and Book Design by Grouper Design,
Yarmouthport, MA.

Cover Art: Elizabeth Moisan

ISBN 978-0-615-45806-9

Moving Can Be Murder

By

Susan Santangelo

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

All rights reserved. Without
limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise)
without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner
and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The
author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of
various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have
been used without permission. The publication/use of these
trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the
trademark owners.

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of this author.

Moving Day
for Carol (and Jim): A.K.A. Seller’s Remorse

I had to say
goodbye one more time. But how does anyone say goodbye to 34 years
of memories?

“It’s just a
house, Carol. It’s not a person.” I could hear My Beloved Husband
Jim’s voice telling me that over and over again. “It’s much too big
for just the two of us. We should cash out and move now, before the
real estate market gets worse.”

He’d finally
worn me down. I’d agreed to sell our beautiful antique home in the
historic district of Fairport, Connecticut, and downsize to a
nearby active adult community. Surprisingly, the house sold
quickly. Part of that was no doubt due to Fairport’s proximity to
New York City – it’s a great commuter town – and also to the super
marketing skills of our listing broker, my very best friend, Nancy
Green, from Dream Homes Realty (“We make your dreams a
reality.”).

I wish she
hadn’t done such a good job.

She’d
convinced me to take a video of my house, intact, before I started
to pack up all our things. OK, my things. Jim was much more willing
than I was to let so many things go.

The moving
truck had come today, and all of our cherished possessions had gone
into storage. Our new home wouldn’t be ready to move into for two
more months. I wanted to postpone the closing, but Jim, not wanting
to lose the buyer – God forbid -- opted to move us and our two
English cocker spaniels, Lucy and Ethel, into a furnished
one-bedroom apartment temporarily. It was quite a comedown –
trading a five-bedroom home for a space smaller than our old master
bedroom suite.

When My
Beloved had taken early retirement from his high-pressure job at
Gibson Gillespie Public Relations in New York City, I’d dreaded the
thought of him being home all the time. But within a month after
his retirement, Jim had signed on as a columnist for our weekly
newspaper, the Fairport News, which kept him busy and out of my
hair most of the time.

That is, he
was out of my hair in a five-bedroom house. How that would
translate to our temporary cramped digs remained to be
seen.

I’d tried to
put on a brave face when we walked out the kitchen door and locked
it for the last time. But I felt like something I truly loved had
died.

I know, I
know. I was being ridiculous.

Later that
night, after hours of tossing and turning in a strange bed and
listening to My Beloved’s snoring, I decided to go back to my house
one more time. I wanted to be in each room and let the memories
wash over me. And once I had done that, I would let the house go.
Once and for all.

That was my
plan.

Until I
stumbled over the dead body in my living room.