Marry in Haste — Susan Van Kirk

The story of two lives over a hundred years apart, both illustrating the resilience of women in the small town of Endurance.

Grace Kimball, retired teacher, is writing for the Endurance Register and dating its editor, Jeff Maitlin. When he buys a huge Victorian house and borrows money from the bank, he sets off a chain of events that puts Grace in danger. Conrad Folger, the bank president, is murdered, and his wife, Emily, becomes the prime suspect. While TJ Sweeney, Grace's friend and Endurance police detective, investigates, Grace also sets out to prove her former student innocent.

If Grace is right and Emily Folger is innocent, who else had a motive to kill the bank president? TJ Sweeney investigates a list of possible suspects: spurned lovers, unhappy bank clients, and even family members.

Grace and Jeff also find a diary from 1893 in Lockwood House, Jeff's newly-bought mansion. Written by a naive 17-year-old who comes to Endurance from a small farm, it tells Olivia Havelock's bittersweet story. She marries a powerful judge, and what begins as a joyous event quickly turns to terror.

As Grace reads the diary, she soon sees parallels to the life of Emily Folger. Can the lessons from the past help Grace clear Emily's name? And can she do it in time, before a killer strikes again?