Table of Contents
More praise for
FUNDRAISING THE DEAD
Shes smart, shes savvy, and shes sharp enough to spot what really goes on behind the scenes in museum politics. The practical and confident Nell Pratt is exactly the kind of sleuth you want in your corner when the going gets tough. Sheila Connolly serves up a snappy and sophisticated mystery that leaves you lusting for the next witty installment.
Mary Jane Maffini, author of the Charlotte Adams Mysteries
National Treasure meets The Philadelphia Story in this clever, charming, and sophisticated caper. When murder and mayhem become the main attractions at a prestigious museum, its feisty fundraiser goes undercover to prove its not just the museums pricey collection thats concealing a hidden history. Secrets, lies, and a delightful revenge conspiracy make this a real page-turner!
Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha Award-winning author of Prime Time
Sheila Connollys wonderful new series is a witty, engaging blend of history and mystery with a smart sleuth who already feels like a good friend. Like all of Ms. Connollys books, Fundraising the Dead is hard to put down. Her stories always keep me turning pagesoften well past my bedtime.Julie Hyzy
Praise for the Orchard Mysteries
Sheila Connollys Orchard Mysteries are some of the most satisfying cozy mysteries Ive read... Warm and entertaining from the first paragraph to the last. Fans will look forward to the next Orchard Mystery.
Lesas Book Critiques
An enjoyable and well written book with some excellent apple recipes at the end.
Cozy Library
The mystery is intelligent and has an interesting twist... Rotten to the Core is a fun, quick read with an enjoyable heroine.
The Mystery Reader (four stars)
Delightful... [A] fascinating whodunit filled with surprises.
The Mystery Gazette
[A] delightful new series.
Gumshoe Review
The premise and plot are solid, and Meg seems a perfect fit for her role.
Publishers Weekly
A fresh and appealing sleuth with a bushel full of entertaining problems. One Bad Apple is one crisp, delicious read.
Claudia Bishop, author of the Hemlock Falls Mysteries
A delightful look at small-town New England, with an intriguing puzzle thrown in. And anybody whos ever tended a septic system is going to empathize with amateur detective Meg Corey.
JoAnna Carl, author of the Chocoholic Mysteries
A promising new mystery series. Thoroughly enjoyable... I cant wait for the next book and a chance to spend more time with Meg and the good people of Granford.
Sammi Carter, author of the Candy Shop Mysteries
Berkley Prime Crime titles by Sheila Connolly
Orchard Mysteries
ONE BAD APPLE
ROTTEN TO THE CORE
RED DELICIOUS DEATH
Museum Mysteries
FUNDRAISING THE DEAD
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
W.C. Fields once said, Id rather be in Philadelphia. Of course, he was talking about an epitaph for his tombstone, but Philadelphia is a lot better than dead. Its a great place, with something for everyoneculture, sports, history. Ive spent a big chunk of my life in and around the city, and thats why I set my new series there.
This book is based on an institution in Center City where I worked for several happy years, and where I met some wonderful, dedicated people. Let me assure you that no character in this book is based on any employee there, past or present, living or dead, and the crimes in the story are my own invention. There has never been a murder there, to my knowledge.
There was, however, a real crime that was discovered while I worked there. That event and its aftermath inspired this story, because it became painfully obvious how easy it is to take advantage of both the trust and the shortcomings of such a venerable cultural institution. In that case the culprit was caught quickly and prosecuted successfully, thanks to the FBI. As for the rest, the descriptions of the outstanding collections, and the ongoing efforts to digitize catalogs and make the collections more widely available to the public, are all true. And like many peer cultural institutions in Philadelphia and throughout the country, this place suffers from chronic underfunding, which contributed to my decision to make my protagonist a fundraising professional (that and the fact that I was one), one of the people who fight to keep the doors open and the lights on so that the public can enjoy the collections.
Of course my thanks go to Jacky Sach and Jessica Faust of BookEnds, who made this book possible, and my patient editor, Shannon Jamieson Vazquez, who has shepherded this through more than one revision, making it stronger each time. Carol Kersbergen, a colleague of mine at the museum, reminded me of a number of details about how things really worked behind the scenes. And as always, the ongoing support of the generous members of Sisters in Crime, and particularly the Guppies, has been essential.
I hope this story gives you something to think about the next time you visit a museum. And please do visitcollections are meant to be enjoyed!
CHAPTER 1
The sight of Marty Terwilliger charging into my office with fire in her eyes was never a good thing, but it was particularly unwelcome right now, as I was trying to put the finishing touches on the grand gala planned for this evening. Tonight was a big event, a really big event, and I was in charge of making it happen. The venerable Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society in Philadelphia was celebrating its 125th anniversary as the guardian of the historic treasures of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. We were expecting nearly two hundred people, which would set a new record for a Society event.
Our famed vaults housed at least two million books, documents, and ephemera, ranging from manuscript letters signed by William Penn and George Washington, to advertising flyers from late nineteenth-century hatters, to financial records for several of the long-defunct companies that had put Philadelphia on the map of the commercial and industrial world. And thats not including our fairly respectable collection of paintings, silver, clothing, and some truly weird artifacts (like a horses hoof made into an inkwell with silver fittings). The Societys stately neoclassical building had been constructed to reflect the seriousness of its purpose, and loomed over a neighborhood that had seen many transitions, both good and bad, and had weathered them all.
Im Eleanor PrattNell to my friendsand Im the director of development for the Society. If that job title means nothing to you (I get a lot of blank looks), it means Im a fundraiser. Im the one who writes those begging letters you get from nonprofit organizations every couple of months. Its not my name at the bottomoh, no, its the presidents, or, if your bank balance runs to seven figures or youre sitting on your great-grandfathers priceless library of Americana, the presidents and the board chairs. But Im the one who writes the letter, and also makes sure that there is a current address and the correct, intimate salutation on each one (Dear Binkie, et cetera), and that there is enough of the good stationery to print them all, and that the president actually gets around to signing them (well, most of themmy staff and I usually end up doing a bunch), and that they get into the mail, with postage on them. Im the invisible person who keeps the money flowing.
