It's no mystery who killed Robert Ripple, owner of Precious Finds Bookstore in Pokesville, Pennsylvania. It was Agatha Christie — or rather, a large carton of valuable Christie hardcovers that the not-so-young Ripple was attempting to lift when his heart gave out.

The real question is why the so-called Friends of England, who meet regularly in the back room of Ripple's literary emporium, are so eager to keep the place open after its proprietor's death. Certainly it must have something to do with the Friends' past lives as the associates of a slain New York mobster. Whatever their plan is, they'll need the help of Tanya Tripp, Ripple's recently hired and completely unsuspecting assistant, if they want to pull it off. But despite her trustworthy appearance, Tanya may well be hatching a scheme of her own.

A DEATH SENTENCE STORY: original shorts about deadly books from the world's best crime writers.

Black Cat Weekly #69