The Mystery of the Smoldering Mattress

Nancy Drouillard is angry and feels patronized when her services offered to a legal firm are rejected. She had hoped that meaningful work would fill the void left by her husband's death. She arrives to vent to the Happy Hour community group only to find a good friend, Hilda, is dead. Nancy is skeptical when informed of the cause of death. Could someone want Hilda dead? Inspired by her admiration of her namesake, Nancy Drew, she decides to investigate and is determined to solve this mystery, even at the risk of becoming the next victim.

Nancy Douillard, a widowed, retired judge returns to her 55+ community after a frustrating meeting at a local law firm. Nancy is angry at being patronized as if her "use-by date" had expired when offering her services. She hoped being of service again would give more of a purpose to her life. Joining the Happy Hour crowd on the deck of the Cup and Vine to meet with her childhood friend, Bess, she finds an ambulance removing the body of her friend, Hilda. The death at-home case detective, Nancy's ex-son-in-law, Harry, concludes Hilda died of smoke inhalation when her mattress caught fire while smoking in bed. Nancy is skeptical of Harry's assumption. She suspects foul play; she knows Hilda never smoked in her apartment. Could someone want Hilda dead? Would Hilda's daughter know something about her death? Was the missing money from Hilda's account a motive? Could the attractive flirtatious man who warned Nancy she could be the next victim be responsible for Hilda's death? Would finding the answers to these questions and justice for Hilda restore Nancy's sense of purpose? Nancy decides to do a little investigating herself. She wondered, "What would a 65-year-old Nancy Drew do?" After all, she was named after the girl detective. Armed with a lifetime of reading Nancy Drew mysteries and her own ingenuity and deductive reasoning, intrepid Nancy Drouillard became determined to solve this mystery. Will she successfully find the guilty party, or could she be the next victim?

Growing up in Toledo, Ohio, Kathryn Crabtree wanted two things: to write and to be Nancy Drew, a fearless, curious, and smart girl detective. While Nancy Drew's family supported her independence and sleuthing skills, Crabtree's parents discouraged her from a writing career, convincing her to focus on something more practical. As a result, Crabtree pursued nursing while authoring a humor column for a local newspaper and articles for nursing journals. Nancy Drew's problem-solving skills continued to inspire Crabtree, who started a nurse aide training center, which evolved into a Homecare Agency that she operated for 20 years before moving to Portland, Oregon. Her Doctorate in Nursing Education degree provided Crabtree the opportunity to teach nursing students at a local university. Retired from teaching, Crabtree writes human interest pieces for her neighborhood paper while devising adventures for her Nancy Drew-inspired amateur sleuth, Nancy Drouillard, Crabtree's older and wiser investigator. The Mystery of the Smoldering Mattress is the first in a series of Nancy Drouillard Mysteries where a woman of a certain age, often invisible to many, finds it as an advantage. The bad guys never see her coming. Instagram: @kathy.crabtree.547 Facebook: author.kathryn.crabtree Thread: kathy.crabtree.547 Website(in progress): kathryncrabtree.com Newsletter: Kathryn.crabtree.org