Hot, jet-lagged, waiting on the curb to cross the busy street, she locks eyes with a passing cyclist. Imagine her excitement at recognizing a friend so far from home. When the cyclist averts her head and passes, Claire realizes it couldn't have been her friend because her friend died last year...
Margaret Maron's Sigrid Harald series;
Charlaine Harris' Shakespeare series;
Dorothy Gilmore's Mrs. Pollifax series