Thirteenth Chime

A Halloween gathering. Thirteen impossible strikes.When collector Malcolm Avery brings a long-silent Victorian clock to The Curious Clockwork, PennyReed discovers that an original component has been quietly replaced. Malcolm soon reveals adisturbing pattern: twelve antique clocks may have lost valuable original parts after professionalrestoration.He plans to take his evidence to Detective Mike Russell after the town's Halloween preview. Henever gets the chance.Before midnight, Malcolm is found dead in Penny's restoration room, killed with one of her ownwinding cranks. His evidence folder is gone. Then the Avery clock strikes thirteen.Bellhaven sees a curse. Penny sees a mechanism.Working with Mike, she follows the physical clues through family secrets, sloppy historical records,missing clock parts, and one carefully staged extra chime. When a suspect who claims not to knowMalcolm's evidence uses the number twelve, Penny realizes the killer has said more than heintended.The thirteenth chime was meant to turn murder into folklore. Penny intends to make sure the truthis louder