Alma's World

George Vercessi does it again! He weaves a tale of murder, revenge and long-past jilted love with a fistful of characters that'll grab and hold you. Molley Moore is at the center of the action, which erupts when her husband, Jack, scratches his arm while inspecting an old dresser in New Market, the antique capital of Maryland. Twenty-four hours later he's struggling to stay alive. With Jack's health failing, Molley turns for help to her former lover, Navy commander Duke Sampson. Together, they trace the dresser to the idyllic mountain hamlet of Romney, West Virginia, and the late Alma Wilkins. In their quest, they encounter auctioneer and self-proclaimed 'Maestro' Veltri, who steers them to Alma's enigmatic nephew, Nelson Twigg. Then, too, there's the endearing Bill Enis, a reclusive mortician who may hold the key to Molley's dilemma; and the ebullient former show girl, Ruby Strible, who's hell-bent on turning every male head in Romney, including Duke's. As Molley probes Alma's seemingly innocuous world, she opens old wounds that'll leave you wondering just who the real villains are.