National Network for Equitable Library Service

In the wake of the upcoming Confederate Day celebration, the Dahlias set out to solve a rash of mysterious occurrences. They're ready to tackle the secret code embroidered on a family heirloom and suss out why one local resident is acting quite strange--yet nothing prepares them for one of their own being accused of stealing county funds.

Journalist Sharon Martin and her fiance, attorney Steve Peterson, stand on opposite sides of the capital punishmen debate. Sharon opposes the death sense, while Steve believes that murderers should be executed. But one night, when Steve's young son and Sharon are kidnapped by a madman, Sharon's beliefs are put to the ultimate test. She must stop their captor, even kill him if necessary, or she and the boy will surely die.

Marrying the son of her father's wealthy employer, twenty-eight-year-old gardener's daughter Kay Lansing becomes increasingly disturbed by the suspicion surrounding her husband, Peter, in regard to the mysterious deaths of his first wife and a high-school senior.

Interior designer Alexandra is terrified when she realizes that someone has stolen her identity and is stealing her money, manipulating her financial records, and involving her name with schemes involving kidnapping and murder.

The Dahlias become suspicious of the newest visitors to Depression-era Darling, Alabama, rumored to be the Naughty and Nice Sisters from the Ziegfeld Frolic, who specialize in dancing nearly naked, and dig for the truth when one of the pair denies the association.

China Bayles's friend, Police Chief Sheila Dawson, takes center stage. When local computer guru Larry Kirk is found dead, many are convinced it was suicide over his recent divorce. But Sheila has a hunch there's more to this case than meets the eye--especially when evidence surfaces that Larry was being stalked.

Izzy Spellman struggles with a bizarre assignment: trailing a woman's husband despite his apparent lack of suspicious behavior. As the questions pile up, Izzy becomes more determined than ever to get to the bottom of the situation--regardless of the consequences.

Ali Reynolds's old friend, a Santa Cruz deputy sheriff, is gunned down, an apparent victim of the drug wars. But looks can be deceiving, and when more bodies begin to pile up, Ali suspects that everyone looking into the case is a potential victim--including her.

Ali Reynolds' peaceful summer is short lived when Brenda Riley, an old broadcasting colleague from Ali's days in California, comes to town with a story of her missing fiance. Ali agrees to help and soon discovers that the fiance is Richard Lowensdale, an Internet predator who preys on his victims' emotions. But when Richard is found murdered, the women he scammed, including Brenda, are prime suspects.

Forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan investigates the death of a man who appears to have died while engaged in a bizarre sexual act and who was originally declared dead four decades earlier.