Bottled Murder

by Jeff Boarts

The bullet-ridden body of a gangster is discovered near his doorstep one morning. Witnesses claim it was someone who stepped from the darkened doorway, put three to the chest of the unsuspecting mobster, and then calmly jumped into a waiting car. To reporter George Cooper, it has all the earmarks of a professional hit. The shooting gives George cause to worry, knowing from past experience that the killings of mobsters leads to more slayings.Later, Ruth Cooper, working at the Allegheny County Coroner’s Office as a typist, learns the flask of whiskey carried by the dead gangster is tainted with wood alcohol, making it a deadly drink. Was it an intentional poisoning, or was he to be just another victim of the alcohol poisoning that have been ravaging the country during Prohibition’s eighth year? Alcohol related deaths have increased as tainted hooch has made its way from the city’s poorer neighborhoods to those of the wealthy and affluent. It’s even been suggested that the U.S. government is poisoning liquor in an attempt to stymie drinking as it futilely strives to enforce Prohibition.Adding to the problem, Phineas Maitland, District Attorney of Allegheny County dies from drinking poisoned gin. Positive he was murdered, George and Ruth set out to learn who had it in for the man. Was it his wife? His mistress? Someone in the D.A.’s office? Or one of the mobsters making a fortune on bootlegging?The couple performs double-duty tasks as George strives to stop a mob war and Ruth endeavors to trace the source of the tainted liquor all while trying to uncover who murdered D.A. Maitland.

277 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2020