She just inherited a million or so bucks ...

So why isn't Cassie jumping for you? To find out, you'll need to read a book or two from the Fatal Landscaping series ((Lilacs, Foxgloves, or Daisies). But here are few clues:

A million bucks? Really?

It's more than that, really. You see, I was raised alongside the Whittington family, who are rich as sin. When Granny Whittington died, she left me a boatload of money because she knew I needed it and the other kids didn't. She had some property and some good stock investments, and...

So has being rich-overnight changed your life?

It hasn't much ... yet. Oh, yeah, it added some complications. I just started a new job, working at a landscape nursery and my boss, Sam Barlow ... well, he and I are interested in each other. But it's awkward. There I am, with a bunch of money and there he is, just a working guy. He's a worried about it looking like he's after me for my cash, and I'm worried about spending too much and ..

But I don't have to worry much about it, at least not at first. The Whittington family -- some of them, at least -- don't think I deserve to inherit, so they've filed a lawsuit, stopping my inheritance.

That family always did have it's share of assholes, excuse my language.

How did you get involved with the family in the first place?

Man, that's a complicated story. You see, back in the day, my mother and I ran away from my father, who was an alcoholic -- a mean drunk, and one who took his frustration out on my mother. She took me and ran away and took refuge in a women's shelter. It was one of the first shelters of its kind in Minnesota, where women could truly hide. Mrs. Whittington (Charlie's mother) was a big supporter of women's rights and she helped us. She met us at the shelter and she offered Mom a job, being nanny to her kids -- Charlie, John & Becky, the twins, and Olivia.

Mom and I lived at the Whittington house (mansion, I guess it should be called) out in the rich part of time. Well, my dad got out of jail, tracked us down, and he came after us. He ended up killing Mrs. Whittington and he almost killed Charlie. I saved Charlie's life, but just barely. Mr. Whittington heard the gun shots and he killed my father. I was just a kid at the time -- hell, we were all just kids, Olivia was a baby and she almost died when my dad killed Mrs. Whittington.

What a mess, huh? Add to the mess the fact that my Mom and I remained with the family, Mom acting as nanny to the now-motherless kids. And I ended up marrying Charlie, but we got divorced after a few years. We stayed good friends, though, which complicated my life like crazy when Sam showed up.

How did you get involved in 3 murders?

I didn't "get involved". Well, okay, I did get involved because Sam was accused of Murder #1, and I was pretty sure he didn't do it. And Olivia's fiance was accused of Murder #2, and I was sure he didn't do it. And Charlie -- then I -- was accused of Murder #3 and I damn well knew we didn't do it.

So I ended up doing a bit of sleuthing. What else could I do?

Tell me more about the murders. Who was killed and who else was there? Who --

Nope. If you want to know more, you have to read the book to find out. I'll tell you this about me: I'm in my 50s, I'm happy being a landscape designer, I used to sing professionally and I still sing at weddings, funerals, and other occasions, I didn't mind being broke a lot of the time, and I'm accustomed to taking care of myself. Having Sam show up in my life was a shocker, that's for sure. And having Charlie tell me he still loved me after all those years ...

Oops. Just gave away a plot point. I'd better quit while I'm ahead!