Death Before Dinner

Could something like murder happen in Fergus Falls-a quiet Minnesota town known for its Scandinavian heritage and great lake fishing? Yah, you betcha! Every August Dr. George Gherkin, the Fergus Falls State University president, hosts a faculty party. It's tradition for George to lock himself inside the kitchen to prepare his signature dish. But instead of Chicken Kiev, the guests find their chef with a meat cleaver buried in his head. All the guests are suspects. There's Sally Ann Pennwright, Gherkin's scorned secretary and former mistress; Sherwin Williams, the assistant professor of Art who's been denied tenure for years; and Francis Olson, the athletic director whose attempt to leave Fergus Falls was thwarted by Gherkin. Everyone has an ax to grind with the selfserving, manipulative university president. Can the small-town sheriff-who hasn't handled a homicide case in his entire career-solve this unsavory crime? This is the first of the series featuring Palmer Knutson, America's famous Norwegian-American sheriff.