The reverberating bangs shake Melanie Perkins' nerves. Either someone's aiming at her truck, or they don't know fireworks are supposed to go upward. Could things get any worse? Yes. The next day she discovers a dead body in the barn on her late parents' farm, Sheriff's Deputy Granger's gun pointed at the chest of a primary suspect – someone she holds dear. Illegal merchandise flooding the small Iowa town of River's Edge, upcoming Fourth of July activities, and a half-finished manuscript all hinder her determined efforts to solve the crime before an innocent person is convicted of murder. In this, the second novel in cozy mystery writer Elaine Orr's River's Edge series, the author again offers humor, believable characters and tight prose as she carries the reader to an exciting climax.

Life for Melanie has returned to normal. She works as a gardener with friend Stooper, eats at Mason's Diner, and sits on her farmhouse porch with friends Syl and Sandi. Her biggest challenge is helping Mr. Tibbs get used to the still-unnamed black cat that sauntered into the household. And then she finds a body in the coat closet at the Farm Bureau dinner. The local grain operator had angered farmers with increased prices, but who kills for an extra few cents per bushel of corn? Tired of fingers pointing toward her and curious about why someone burned some of her late father's files, Mel does some poking on her own. The kidnapping of a local woman raises the stakes. With pets who have a nose for trouble, Melanie seeks a devious suspect. * * * * Melanie isn't much of a cook, but her mom was. Check out the recipes for banana bread and the Spaghetti and Chicken Casserole. Yum!

Opening your apartment door to see a woman sliding down it is distressing. Especially when that woman has a knife in her chest. How could a murderer be roaming the halls in the middle of the night? After all the times she has encouraged Jolie to mind her own business, Aunt Madge has had a change of heart. It's Jolie's boyfriend, Scoobie, Madge turns to for help figuring out who the murderer is. Not that being temporarily in an assisted living apartment prevents Aunt Madge from investigating herself. No, a fall from a stool that results in a broken wrist and ankle can't hold down the owner of the Cozy Corner B&B. Could the murderer be a resident with a grudge, or a philandering neighbor who didn't want to get caught in someone else's bed? Aunt Madge's scooter rides take her to the laundry room where she thinks she spots a body in a bin, and into the cold to check exit doors to be sure they can't be entries for murder. All she gets is a reputation for being nosy. It's hard not to be when a dead woman's blood is on your carpet. Murder's not all Madge and friends juggle. What will happen to the Alzheimer's patient whose husband wants to keep her in their apartment? Will Scoobie find information about Melvin, his ornery former professor, that will explain his odd behavior? And how will Madge and her good friend Lance avoid the acid-tongued Elmira Washington, who has decided she wants an apartment in their building? Elmira has been a thorn in Jolie's side for years. Would she be willing to kill to eliminate a roadblock to her move? For a change, it's Madge whose persistence annoys Sergeant Morehouse of the Ocean Alley Police. Certainly the director of the Silver Times senior complex wants Aunt Madge to get well enough to leave. And she does miss her exuberant retrievers and husband Harry. He's busy burning muffins at the B&B instead of helping Jolie with the appraisal business. Good humor at the Jersey shore. Except for the poor dead woman. Add the Christmas and Hanukkah season and there's good fun mixed with the murder. ISBN: 9780986338021

Digger listened to Uncle Benjamin's stories and acquired her nickname while helping him plant flowers at family graves. She looks forward to spending time with him after busted pipes put her kitchen ceiling on the floor. She didn't expect to find his body at his mountain home, the Ancestral Sanctuary. Who would kill the parsimonious octogenarian who helped the historical society find a new abode? And what will digging into family history tell Digger and her cousin, Franklin, about Benjamin's killer? Spooky times in the Western Maryland Mountains.