Quirky, Fun, Engaging,
Inspirational,
Quirky, Fun, Engaging, Inspirational,
The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club: The Ghost and The Key
For over 200 years, the Cranberry family has owned property in the town that bears its name in Southern Connecticut near the shore of the Long Island Sound. For all that time, the true ownership of that property has been contested by one group or another. When Chester, the initial owner of the farm that grew into this sprawling estate, was murdered in 1832, everyone believed the murderer was his wife, Elcira Cranberry. Elcira was locked in a potting shed at the time, and she was found to have no key which would allow her to get out and lock herself back in. So, the lack of evidence, and the lack of any other evidence, resulted in a cold case, which, after two-hundred years, has grown very cold, indeed.
Nearly two centuries later, in 2024, the key turns up in a rose garden on the property, resurrecting the previously deceased speculation that Widow Elcira could have murdered her husband. Mildred Cranberry Smith, the current owner had promised her daughter that she would leave her entire estate in Old Cranberry to her granddaughter, Maggie, when Maggie married. So, here we are. Maggie is engaged to the son of a property developer who wants to turn the property into a luxury townhouse community, and a woman claiming to be a direct descendant of the woman Chester raped believes she can wrestle away the property from Mildred and claim it as hers. Meanwhile, Mildred’s aunt who dug up the key in her garden, enlists the support of the Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club to help solve the case. But when Auntie uncovered the key, she dug up something else as well. Enter Elcira Cranberry, the ghost of the woman accused of killing her husband 200 years ago. Will the key prove that she did it and void the inheritance? There is a ghost of a chance it will.
First Book in the Cranberry Family Series
The Cranberry family is rich with characters spanning over 200 years and eight generations, taking us from the early 1800s to today.
Mildred Cranberry Smith is the present-day matriarch of the family and owner of the Cranberry property. She prefers to use her maiden name, wanting to hold onto the family heritage.
Maggie Payton is Mildred’s granddaughter. She is a Doctor in the children’s cancer unit of the local hospital. She will inherit the Cranberry property on her wedding day.
Sylvie Rose is Mildred’s Aunt Sylvie. She lives in the carriage house on the estate, the parcel of land that has changed hands over the years.
Jacqueline Hudson is the Old Cranberry town busybody and gossip. She has money and influence in the community. She has a longstanding gripe with Mildred.
Tilly Parker is the only member of the garden club who professes to be able to see and talk to spirits.
David Parker is Tilly’s son. He is a lawyer who knew Maggie in high school.
Kendal Lightfoot is a one-time noted journalist and owner of the local newspaper.
Sam Castleby is Maggie’s fiancé. He lives at home and works for his father at a property development company.
James Castleby is Sam’s father, and the owner of Castleby Development Company, which is sorely in need of funding
Harriet Castleby is Sam’s mom. She volunteers at the hospital where Maggie works.
Effie (Ephedra) Devine is the adopted daughter of Tilly who prefers to call Tilly her aunt, a label she used when Tilly was her foster mom, and her own mom was still alive. She feels she has the right to claim the Cranberry property for herself.
Elcira Engels Cranberry is the ghost/spirit who surfaces when a key is found that could prove Elcira killed her husband, Chester, and should not be able to inherit his land.
Deborah Townsend is the daughter of Colonel Townsend’s slave, Grace, and she worked for the Cranberry family as a nanny for the children.
Chester Cranberry is dead, murdered in 1832 by person or persons unknown.
A little Cranberry Family History may be helpful here.
Chester married Jessica Hammond, who died in childbirth, leaving a son, Garfield Cranberry.
Chester remarried. He and Elcira had seven children. They are Felix, Susie, Sally, Marty, Tubby, Wally, and Tootsie.
Felix married Lorraine Peters, and they had three children: August “Auggie”, C.J., and Julie.
Garfield Cranberry married Penelope Townsend, and they had a daughter, Mildred “Millie.”
Auggie married Millie, and their firstborn son was Daniel.
Daniel married Mamie Simmons, and their firstborn son was Joseph.
Joseph married Daniella Hochstedt, and their only child was a daughter, Mildred Cranberry.
Mildred married Alfred Smith and their only child was Audrey Smith.
Audrey Smith married Thomas Payton and their only child was Maggie.
So, here the story begins, or does it? The Cranberry family saga continues by going back in time to Elcira’s day.
