"The Outsmarting of Criminals" by Steven Rigolosi

There are few books that can surprise the Recommender, so, recently, while working at the library and checking items in... a book crossed the desk that caused me to take a second look. The cover is one of the best covers ever, take a look to the left. Is that not one of the BEST covers you've ever seen? It is Gorey-esque and yet, unique, and when you read the book it contains you will see just from where the design emanated!
Miss Felicity Prim, as the book begins, is an attractive woman of a certain age who has spent many years as the office manager for a well respected physician in New York City. A handsome one, at that. And, a widower. After Miss Prim survives a mugging, which is a life changing event for her, she decides to leave the city, though she loves it, and buy a home in the country much to the sadness of said physician and the office staff who all adored her and depended on her skills. Miss Prim is an aficionado of mysteries and crime fiction and after having read a great many and been able to second guess many of the lead characters, she decides a career in the field of criminal outsmarting would be perfect for her in new place of residence. She buys the quaint and lovely "Rose Cottage" in picturesque Greenfield, Connecticut. And immediately comes upon a murder mystery... in her own new home!
Does Miss Prim become a Criminal Outsmarter? Will there be handsome men in her future? Can home baked cinnamon buns win her new friends and influence people? These are just a few  questions that will be answered in one of the most delightfully arch and funny  and just perfectly written books that just begs to be reread and quoted aloud! I never heard of Mr. Rigolosi before but I am a new fan and though I am not big on sequels or series... I don't think anyone who reads The Outsmarting of Criminals can ever have enough of Miss Felicity Prim! And, in case you were wondering, the cover is by the extremely talented J. E. Larson. Highly, highly recommended!