A thousand words
(Book)

Mary Fisher has found the perfect place to retire - right where she started. She's moved back to Cape Cod to open Mary's Mystery Bookshop in Ivy Bay, a quaint coastal village flanked by meandering marshes and silvery beaches. It's the ideal location to relax with a good book on a summer day. But Mary soon discovers that this small town is full of secrets. When Mary and Betty inherit their great-uncle's home, they find some charming paintings hidden in the attic. The New England scenes are bright, colorful, and full of life. Mary is thrilled to discover that the paintings were done by their great-aunt Maude, who died young. But a desperate note taped to the back of one of the paintings suggests there is more to Aunt Maude's story than Mary and Betty know. What happened to her? Did she really die? Investigating events from more than fifty years ago stretches Mary's sleuthing skills to the limit. Then she discovers that the key to Aunt Maude's past is in the paintings she left behind. As Mary puts the pieces together, she learns a picture is worth a thousand words.