The provided excerpts come from "Shakespeare's Trollop," the fourth book in a mystery series by Charlaine Harris, featuring the protagonist Lily Bard, a cleaner with a dark past and martial arts training. The narrative centers on Lily's discovery of the murdered body of Deedra Dean, a promiscuous young woman in the town of Shakespeare, and the subsequent police investigation led by Sheriff Marta Schuster. Lily’s involvement in the case deepens as she assists with cleaning out the victim's apartment, while simultaneously navigating her complex relationships, including a budding romance with Jack and dealing with the suspicious circumstances surrounding a fire at her elderly client Joe C Prader's house, which later results in his death. Ultimately, Lily connects clues like a missing TV Guide and a videotape to unmask the murderers, who turn out to be the victim’s supposed landlady and her brother, Sherry Crumpler and David Messinger, who had assumed the identities of Becca and Anthony Whitley to avoid capture following a previous crime.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.