ANNE GEORGE was the Agatha Award-winning author of eight Southern Sisters mysteries: Murder on a Girls’ Night Out, Murder on a Bad Hair Day, Murder Runs in the Family, Murder Makes Waves, Murder Gets a Life, Murder Shoots the Bull, Murder Carries a Torch, and her final book, Murder Boogies With Elvis. Her popular and hilariously funny novels reflected much of her own experiences. Like Patricia Anne, Anne George was a happily married former schoolteacher living in Birmingham, Alabama, and who grew up with a delightful cutup cousin who provided plenty of inspiration for the outrageous Mary Alice. A former Alabama State Poet, cofounder of Druid Press, and a regular contributor to literary and poetry publications, Ms. George was also the author of a literary novel, This one and Magic Life, which Publishers Weekly described as “silky and lyrical.” She had been nominated for several awards, including the Pulitzer for a book of verse entitled Some of It Is True. Anne George passed away in March 2001.

Praise

Praise

for

Murder Carries a Torch

and ANNE GEORGE’s other
SOUTHERN SISTERS MYSTERIES

“Anne George creates the most memorable characters and entertaining adventures.”

Pittsburgh Tribune

“Wacky fun and adventure…hilarious dialogue…eccentric characters and southern flavor…George has written another genuinely funny mystery, and fans will be glad to see many familiar faces from earlier escapades.”

Publishers Weekly

“It’s always a pleasure to keep company with Mouse and Sister…George’s sunny Southern sisters are like comfort food, as good as grits and almost better than biscuits.”

Virginian Pilot and Ledger-Star

“George [is] a champ with amusing set pieces and one-liners.”

Orlando Sentinel

“The Patricia Anne and Mary Alice mysteries are wonderful confections that prove life is funny and poignant on the other side of sixty.

New Orleans Times-Picayune

“I haven’t been this excited about a series since the Hardy Boys.”

Birmingham Magazine

Other Books by Anne George

Southern Sisters Mysteries by
Anne George
from Avon Books

MURDER ON A GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT

MURDER ON A BAD HAIR DAY

MURDER RUNS IN THE FAMILY

MURDER MAKES WAVES

MURDER GETS A LIFE

MURDER SHOOTS THE BULL

MURDER CARRIES A TORCH

MURDER BOOGIES WITH ELVIS

And

THIS ONE AND MAGIC LIFE

Copyright

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

MURDER CARRIES A TORCH. Copyright © 2000 by Anne George. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.