National Network for Equitable Library Service

The New Year's Day festivities of the Jefferson Hunt are just about to pick up. But then it rains on everybody's parade when Sam Lorillard is found stabbed to death at the old train station. As the investigation proceeds, what was initially thought to be an unrelated scandal at a neighboring club soon seems to be much more.

The sleepy little town of Crozet, Virginiahas seen its share of mischief and mayhem, but nothing like this. While visiting the Mt. Carmel monastery, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen witnesses a statue of the Virgin Mary cry tears of blood. Legend says this fortells crises, and soon a monk is found frozen to death near the statue. Before long the monk's body disappears, another Crozet citizen dies, and a shocking revelation to an ages-old mystery surfaces. Thankfully, Harry and her sleuthing animals are on the case--unofficially, or course.

When a rare set of hubcaps is stolen, it seems like a harmless offense, until the suspected theif is found hanged in the woods. Soon the body count rises, forcing Harry to divide her time between getting to the bottom of the malfeasance and dating a handsome visitor from Uraguay.

Crozet, Virginia, is a pretty sleepy place, but during a Civil War reenactment, murder occurs, and postmistress and amateur sleuth Harry Harristeen and her three pets are soon on the prowl looking for the killer.

Since it's always a good idea to fly under police radar, Serge figures the Keys are just the place to lie low. Plus, he has two missions to accomplish--re-invent himself and get married, although he hasn't picked the lucky lady yet. But what he doesn't know is that enough serial and spree killers are headed his way to have a parade of psychopaths. Are the Keys big enough for all the lunatics?

An FBI undercover operation gone bad convinces Rae Gabriella to move near her hometown and work as a private investigator with another former agent. But the small town of Justice, Illinois, is not as safe as she thinks. Attractive and stylish young women, just like Rae, are quietly dropping dead in their hotel rooms--with money and valuables still untouched. When the next victim turns up just a few rooms away from Rae's hotel room, the grieving parents hire her to investigate.

When the ever ethical Isabel Dalhousie bumps into Minty Auchterlonie for the first time in years, she is skeptical (again) of Minty's integrity. But Minty mentions the bank where she works is having internal troubles, and Isabel must determine, once and for all, if Minty can be trusted.

When her niece Cat travels to a wedding in Italy, Isabel agrees to fill in at Cat's delicatessen. She takes note of a customer named Ian, who is avoiding chocolate--doctors say it's bad for the new heart he recently recieved. Ian is haunted by memories he can't quite place, prompting Isabel to wonder if his new heart may be the cause. Always keenly interested in matters of the heart, Isabel investigates and discovers some rather surprising truths.

After a patient dies accidentally, an impeccably credentialed doctor is accused of fraudulent involvement with a new drug. Isabel launches an investigation, concerned that a good man's reputation will be ruined. Could the doctor be taking the fall for someone else's mistake? Or did a nefarious pharmaceutical company put its lofty ambitions ahead of safety?

Von Igelfeld is quite pleased with his role as a visiting scholar at Cambridge, even if his English colleagues can be difficult to comprehend. They frequently speak in metaphors and make peculiar assumptions, saying such odd things as "I take it your journey went well," when that is not the case at all. But von Igelfeld settles in the best he can, and is soon deeply embroiled in some shady political scheming at the university. After returning to the comfort of his perfectly rational Germany, von Igelfeld is invited to Colombia for a special fellowship.