Poppy's Bones by Gloria Ferris

Why did Poppy die?

Was it for love, money, or revenge?

Each time she married, wealthy Poppy Silva chose a man much younger than the last. Oddly, she retained the discarded husbands, and they all lived harmoniously in her mansion. The arrangement worked. Or so it seemed.

On a mild autumn evening, Poppy took a stroll through the neighbourhood, arms filled with her trademark Himalayan blue poppies. She never returned.

For almost seven years, Poppy's lawyer continued to pay the bills and the husbands continued to live together, expecting Poppy to return any day.

Until Bliss Moonbeam Cornwall, Lockport's most annoyingly efficient entrepreneur, opens an ornate chest in the attic of an abandoned house. Inside, she discovers a pile of jumbled, human bones. The condition of the bones screams murder, and it takes less than 24 hours to make an identification.

Police Chief Neil Redfern, Bliss's husband, opens an investigation. Within days of the discovery, two people close to Poppy are killed with a WW2 German Walther handgun. One of the victims is a suspect in Poppy's death.

A third bullet from the same firearm hits too close to home and, to no one's surprise, Bliss ignores Neil's instructions to stay away from the inquiry. She's all in.

She believes she knows why Poppy died, and the reason for the subsequent murders. Bliss better be right. The killer didn't get what they want. Not yet.