First in a delicious series: Five friends and dancers on a Russian river cruise discover it takes legwork to solve a murder. It’s never too late to kick up your heels. Just ask Tina, Janice, Pat, Mary Louise, and Gini—a.k.a. the Happy Hoofers. After posting a video of their tap-dancing routine on the internet, the leggy ladies find themselves booked to perform on a lavish river cruise up the Volga from Moscow to St. Petersburg. But when murder cuts in, the five fabulous friends find it’s not so easy to tap their troubles away. The chef has been killed (the food was lousy, but come on), and a passenger has gone missing. With a killer on board, the Hoofers need to watch their step. But with a little fancy footwork, these soft-shoe sleuths may get a leg up on a murderer who’s cruising for a bruising. Includes travel tips and tasty recipes!

“Hilarity and camaraderie.” —RT Book Reviews Murder takes center stage . . . It’s a Christmas miracle for the Happy Hoofers—Tina, Janice, Pat, Mary Louise, and Gini. They’ve scored a gig at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall with the legendary Rockettes, complete with sexy Santa suits and microphones on their shoes. But when a dazzling diva of a dancer is found dead under the stage, there’s quite a lineup of suspects. In between rehearsals and seasonal sightseeing—and the discovery of a multi-talented, multi-colored cat—the toe-tapping troupe has to sort out the intrigue before another victim kicks the bucket . . . INCLUDES COOKING TIPS AND TASTY RECIPES Praise for the Happy Hoofers Mysteries “McHugh delivers murder and mayhem.” —Jerilyn Dufresne “Hilarity and hijinks.” —Nancy Coco “Cozy adventure for mystery buffs.” —Library Journal

"It's Bastille Day in Paris. The Happy Hoofers--Tina, Janice, Pat, Mary Louise, and Gini--are all set to kick off the fete by dancing the cancan on a beautiful sightseeing cruise down the Seine. As the leggy ladies soak in the magic of the city of lights, everything is magnifique...until a very important patron goes belly-up on the top deck. On the heels of their French debut, murder takes center stage. The five daring dancers will need to step lively to stop the crafty killer fast...or their grand finale will turn out far more explosive than the fireworks over the Eiffel Tower" --

"Cozy adventure for mystery buffs." --Library Journal Murder's a showstopper... The fancy-footed Happy Hoofers--Tina, Janice, Pat, Mary Louise, and Gini-- are kicking off Carnival by entertaining posh guests at the most elegant hotel in Rio de Janeiro. Stunning beaches and spectacular views abound. But the party is cut short for the fab five when their alluring Brazilian companion is found dead in her room, without a clue as to what killed her. As the samba-loving sleuths sift the evidence, they realize that even in beautiful Rio, murder can set the stage--and steal the show... Includes Travel Tips And Tasty Recipes Praise for the Happy Hoofers Mysteries "A fun read . . . the camaraderie between the characters is intriguing." --RT Book Reviews "McHugh delivers murder and mayhem." --Jerilyn Dufresne "Hilarity and hijinks." --Nancy Coco

Murder is nothing to tap at. . . The high-kicking Happy Hoofers--Tina, Janice, Pat, Mary Louise, and Gini--have been booked to flaunt their fabulous flamenco footwork on a luxury train ride through northern Spain. But when a blowhard talk show host is found deader than four-day-old flan--with Gini as suspect numero uno--the feisty friends waste no time stepping into their sleuthing shoes to protect one of their own. The dynamite dancers will have to step up their game before a clever killer brings the curtain down on one of them . . . for good! Includes Photo Tips And Tasty Recipes

Based on extensive research as well as the author's own teaching and mentoring experience, this lively book covers best practices in the essentials of teaching-from organizational tips to proven pedagogic and classroom management techniques. It combines insights from some of the most respected psychologists and educational thinkers with hundreds of firsthand discussions. In style, the book combines the intellectual rigor of a college textbook with the readability, practical relevance, and appropriate humor common to bestselling how-to manuals. While avoiding oversimplification, the author has distilled this vast reservoir of expert wisdom into an easily-digestible guidebook packed with diagrams, interviews, anecdotes, and case studies. The result is both enlightening and enjoyable to read.

The surprising true story of Mexico’s hunt, arrest, and conviction of its first female serial killer For three years, amid widespread public outrage, police in Mexico City struggled to uncover the identity of the killer responsible for the ghastly deaths of forty elderly women, many of whom had been strangled in their homes with a stethoscope by someone posing as a government nurse. When Juana Barraza Samperio, a female professional wrestler known as la Dama del Silencio (the Lady of Silence), was arrested—and eventually sentenced to 759 years in prison—for her crimes as the Mataviejitas (the little old lady killer), her case disrupted traditional narratives about gender, criminality, and victimhood in the popular and criminological imagination. Marshaling ten years of research, and one of the only interviews that Juana Barraza Samperio has given while in prison, Susana Vargas Cervantes deconstructs this uniquely provocative story. She focuses, in particular, on the complex, gendered aspects of the case, asking: Who is a killer? Barraza—with her “manly” features and strength, her career as a masked wrestler in lucha libre, and her violent crimes—is presented, here, as a study in gender deviance, a disruption of what scholars call mexicanidad, or the masculine notion of what it means to be Mexican. Cervantes also challenges our conception of victimhood—specifically, who “counts” as a victim. The Little Old Lady Killer presents a fascinating analysis of what serial killing—often considered “killing for the pleasure of killing”—represents to us.