The Development: Three Jan Birch Mysteries — Marshall Thornton

Set in the mid-sixties in upstate New York, Jan Birch is a housewife who lives in a planned development of small, cramped homes. As she struggles with a difficult marriage and an anti-social son, she finds herself involved in the murder of the neighborhood divorcee, her boss's difficult divorce when she gets a part-time job and, eventually, falls in love with a man who may or may not be a murderer himself. This short story collection includes the separately published Coffee Clutch, Bartholi's Rest and Mountain View Terrace in one volume.