Box One of Two

by Pamela Dean

Silver screen star Violet Merryweather has one mission before she find out who killed her lover. After years of sleuthing, she’s gathered all the evidence. But she’s run out of time. Now she’s leaving the job in the hands of two strangers to finish.
Heather meets all sorts of interesting elderly people cleaning rooms at Serenity Falls, but none were as intriguing as Violet. Eccentric on her best days and two slices short of a loaf on most, Violet is unforgettable. Now she’s dead, and she’s left Heather a box with cryptic instructions to fly to Los Angeles. Heather’s certain it’s a mistake. But what could it hurt? It might just lead to something…life changing.
Vince mowed Violet’s lawn when he was fourteen and saving money to pursue a career in baseball. Years later, he’s running his sick father’s auto shop, his baseball dreams sidelined, when Violet pops back into his life via a letter from her attorney. Now he’s at the airport, about to meet a girl named Heather, who’s holding a box just like his.
As Vince and Heather race to solve a decades-old mystery, they discover that love—like clues—is sometimes found in the most unexpected places.

286 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2025

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Pamela Dean is an American fantasy author best known for Tam Lin, a novel that reimagines the classic Scottish fairy tale in a Midwestern college setting inspired by her alma mater, Carleton College. She has written six novels, including The Secret Country Trilogy, The Dubious Hills, and Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary, and has contributed short stories to various anthologies.
A member of the influential writing group The Scribblies, alongside authors such as Emma Bull and Patricia Wrede, Dean was also a contributor to the Liavek shared-world anthologies and is part of the Pre-Joycean Fellowship. Her work is often praised for its lyrical prose, literary depth, and rich mythological influences.
Both Tam Lin and The Dubious Hills were nominated for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. She has also written essays and reviews, showcasing her deep engagement with fantasy literature. Readers drawn to intelligent, literary fantasy with a strong sense of folklore and academia will find much to love in her work.