Mary Edwards

Many St. Louisans remember Elaine Viets from her time as a columnist for the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

In the 15 years since she left the city, she has become a prolific and New York Times best-selling author of mystery novels.

One of Viets’ series features St. Louis mystery shopper Josie Marcus.  The series debuted in October 2005 with “Dying in Style.”  “Murder Is a Piece of Cake" is her eighth adventure.

Host Don Marsh talked with Viets about her new book and experiences in St. Louis.

Related Events

The EF-5 tornado in Joplin, Missouri in May 2011 killed 161 people and a left city and its residents devastated.

Two filmmakers - Beth Pike and Erica Tremblay - have created films documenting the disaster, the fallout, and what they call a “remarkable recovery.”

The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are two of the most well-known and recognizable paintings.

The Italian artist, Leonardo da Vinci, was not famous when he began painting The Last Supper in 1495 and he faced much professional uncertainty.  He was forty years old and had left several patrons dissatisfied with his work.

However, The Last Supper, a fifteen feet high by thirty feet wide work, is considered a masterpiece.  It depicts the last supper of Jesus with his disciples and the reaction to him saying he would be betrayed.

Jean King and Richard Baron first met in 1968, when the two joined forces to protest conditions and rent hikes in St. Louis public housing.

Together, they earned a reputation as “imaginative leaders” and community advocates, attracting the attention of author/filmmaker Daniel Blake Smith.