Category Archives: Myers, Tim

In his poem “Mending Wall,” Robert Frost wrote “Good fences make good neighbors.” At the beginning of A Pour Way to Dye, the soap-making Perkins family is at odds with jeweler Ernest Joy over a fence he has installed on their business property. Although their shops are close, the relationship the Perkins share with the Joys is not, and this fence is not a goodwill gesture. When Ben Perkins goes to Ernest Joy’s house to confront him, he is met by the police and an ambulance: Ernest has just been murdered – with a bar of soap from Where There’s Soap in his hand. Because of the conflict between the families and his proximity to the crime scene, Ben is the top suspect in the case. However, there are a few other people who Ben thinks should be examined: Joy’s greedy children, a vengeful, estranged wife, and an ex-con with whom Joy had been in cahoots. As Ben digs for clues to clear his name, he discovers the surprising murderer.

A Pour Way to Dye is Tim Myer’s second novel in the “Soapmaking Mystery” series.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Harrison Black is working a dead-end job selling computers when he gets the phone call. His beloved great-aunt Belle has just passed away, and he needs to meet with her attorney immediately. Little does he know that this meeting will change his life. In her will Belle left Harrison her candle shop, At Wick’s End, with the wish that he will move to Micah’s Ridge and be fully involved in the day-to-day activities of the store. With no better option and a desire to stay true to his great-aunt, Harrison decides to move into her apartment at River’s Edge, the mixed-use property she also left him.

Harrison likes this new, warm community and he finds he has a talent for candle making. Everything would be just as Belle wished if Harrison didn’t have a sneaking suspicion that Belle’s death was not an accident. Her death is suspicious because it appears she fell from a ladder, but she was afraid of heights. Additionally, a strange series of break-ins and robberies occur at River’s Edge, and a diamond jeweler is murdered. Just when he starts to despair that he will never find the answer, Harrison discovers a large diamond hidden inside the last candle Belle ever made – her secret clue. Harrison, a devoted Agatha Christie fan, makes an identical candle and puts it on display with the hope that it will draw the murderer into At Wick’s End. When an unlikely but armed individual comes into the store after hours looking for the diamond, Harrison uses the only weapon available to protect himself and the store while finding his great-aunt’s killer – hot wax!

At Wick’s End is Tim Myer’s first novel in the “Candlemaking Mystery” series.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.