What could be more horrific than finding detailed photos of a suspiciously hanged man among your father's belongings? That's the starting point for Murder Old & New, a novel jointly written by Laurie and Chet Williamson.

Chet, besides being an old musical partner of mine, is a suspense, dark fantasy and horror author of some renown. His wife Laurie is a talented violinist, educator and quilter who patiently keeps him in line.

Their protagonist is Livy Crowe, a single, 45-year-old cat lady who runs an antiques and curiosities shop in the small Pennsylvania city of Buchanan (a stand-in for Lancaster). She stumbles upon a set of old photographs hidden away by her late father that show a hanging victim who'd been found in a tree outside town decades before.

Her curiosity piqued, Livy looks into the incident and discovers, not only who the man in the photo was, but that his hanging might not have been the suicide everyone believed. In fact, she ties his death into a series of similar murders linked to a long-ago serial killer who was never caught or even identified. Of course, she has to delve into it further, even though any evidence is long gone, and there are few people still alive who remember the incident or the people involved.

That doesn't discourage Livy, and her casual investigation quickly bears fruit. In fact, the mystery is all but wrapped up by the start of chapter 6. Of course, that's only a quarter of the way through the book, so you know the Williamsons have something more in store.

Let's just say I was sure I had the mystery solved several times while reading, and I didn't figure it out until very near to the end. The story has an ample supply of red herrings and misdirections that will keep readers guessing.

Oh, did I mention that old women suddenly start dying in somewhat mysterious circumstances at the retirement home where Livy's mother grudgingly resides?

I would love to know more about Chet and Laurie's process, specifically who provided which elements to the story and how the plot fell into place for them ... but maybe that mystery is better left unsolved. Regardless, the Williamsons make an effective writing team, and together they have crafted a raft of interesting, believable characters and a suspenseful mystery that hits all the right notes.