Antiquities can be dangerous. You never know an object’s true history. Join Sammy Shepherd as she is dealt a hand that she alone must play. Jane, Sammy’s best friend, plays in a women-only weekly card game group where she deals out gossip alongside Euchre and Pitch.

When a murder rocks the ranks of the Queen of Hearts Club, Sammy steps in to fill the spot. But can she uncover the plot?

The former Queen of Hearts member, an antique dealer known for unearthing treasures, has been found dead in her shop, and the rare relic she’d recently flaunted is missing. This relic, according to Detective Dunnitt, is a missing piece from an unsolved murder that shook the town over a decade ago. 

The relic’s story first surfaced in the cozy chatter of the Queen of Hearts Club, where Jane and her fellow cardsharps traded tales at the Table Rock Lake Table Stakes charity card event. Teams from Hollister, Forsyth, and beyond joined in tournament Heats, spreading word of a missing clue to an old lake mystery, tied to a prominent political Branson family.

Now, with the dealer gone and the relic missing, suspicion ripples through the town’s tight-knit core, pointing to everyone from club regulars to community players. Sammy brings her keen eye for detail to the card table. Known for her community ties, forged through years at the Elk’s Lodge alongside fellow Elk, Detective Lou Dunnitt, she’s no stranger to the town’s rhythms. 

As she deals her first hand, Sammy finds the Queen of Hearts Club awash in intimate chatter, and politics loom like the very mountains of the Ozarks. With most members retired, their free schedules mean anyone could have slipped in and out unnoticed, making alibis as slippery as a bad bluff. The official police force can perform its procedural investigations, but some mysteries are best solved with an ear for gossip and an eye for the truth.

Sammy is truly dealing in murder as she navigates the rounds of the club to uncover the truth, playing the hand she’s dealt with sharp intuition. Detective Dunnitt offers guarded official insights over Lodge cocktails, but it’s the murmurs among the cards, and the secrets tucked between trumps and tricks that hold the key. In Branson’s charming blend of tourist glitz and Ozark warmth, where family legacies loom large, Sammy hopes her cleverness can outwit a killer’s hidden advantage and restore the town’s harmony.

This book is currently being crafted. Stay tuned for updates!