Most Popular Books by Carolyn Hart

An ageing heiress’s surprise engagement leads to murder in the Agatha Award–winning author’s New York Times bestselling series. Wealthy, widowed art patron Virginia Neville has fallen head over heels for Jake O’Neill, her handsome, charming, and much younger fiancé. But when she announces their engagement at a gala gallery opening, not all the gathered friends and stepfamily are pleased. And before the last champagne bubble pops, murder disrupts the grand celebration. Bookstore owner Annie Darling is shocked to learn that her employee Chloe Martin is the prime suspect. Now she’s determined to untangle an unholy marriage of jealousy, blackmail, and malicious mischief to clear Chloe’s name—even if it means having to cross swords with her policeman hubby Max and cross paths with a cruelly clever stalker.

Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand bookstore, is shocked to hear talk about her husband, Max, and a beautiful blonde. By the time she’s faced down a hostile police chief and bailed Max out of the Chastain, South Carolina, jail, the lady has vanished and Max is the prime suspect in an unspecified crime. The baffling, bloodstained trail leads straight to the doorstep of Tarrant House, home of the venerable Southern family with a violent history dating back to the Revolution—and ghosts of a far more recent vintage. Annie and Max find that the dignified façade of Tarrant House hides a hotbed of deadly passions as the family turns on itself in a mayhem of murderous motives and angry accusations. But in the end Annie must summon all her sleuthing skills to stop a desperate killer who is ready to strike again to keep the secrets that haunt the Tarrants from the light of day. . . . Praise for Southern Ghost “Tantalizing . . . keep[s] the reader guessing all the way.”—The Denver Post “Pleasing . . . chillingly effective…remarkably satisfying.”—Publishers Weekly “[Annie and Max] make one of the most attractive pairs of sleuths since Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles.”—Chicago Sun-Times

WINNER OF THE AGATHA AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL “Bittersweet...Set in a small-town America that lives only in memory, this artfully narrated whodunit observes the residents of an unnamed Oklahoma hamlet over the hot and dusty summer of 1944 as they ration their food, count their war dead and turn on their neighbors.”—TheNew York Times Book Review World-renowned journalist G.G. Gilman does her best not to think of the past. But one day she gets a letter—sent from the small Oklahoma town where she grew up—that brings it all back. Memories of people she had once known and loved dearly—and of the sultry summer when her life changed forever...

The show must go on . . . When mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance is invited to stage a Mystery Night for the annual antebellum house tour of the Historical Preservation Society of Chastain, South Carolina, she instead finds herself the leading lady in a flesh-and-blood drama. The play''s the thing wherein the curtain falls on mean-spirited grande dame Corinne Webster. While jeweled fingers point, accusing Annie of murder, the perpetrator lurks within the genteel cast of Murder-Most-Make-Believe . . . and the murder weapon is one of the props. In the tight-laced society of Chastain, Annie is guilty until proven innocent. With her fiance, Max Darling, Annie pieces together evidence to clear her name—until her chief witness is murdered. Now it will take all her sleuthing skills to discover the evil in the heart of Chastain''s Beautiful People.

Six years ago, Henrie O''s beloved newspaperman husband Richard lost his life on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Now, on a brisk March morning, a chilling message has arrived by Priority Mail claiming Richard''s fatal fall from a towering island cliff was no accident--it was murder. Following cryptic clues and her infallible instincts to a lush and verdant tropical Eden--andto the lavish mountaintop estate of wealthy matriarch Belle Ericcson, where Richard spent his final days--the determined sexagenarian sleuth becoems privy to terrible allegations of greed and jealousy, adultery and abuse...and of a mystery surrounding the kidnap-slaying of Belle''s eldes child CeeCee. But now that her search for the truth has brought Henrie O to this lethal paradise where giant palm fronds hide evil deeds from inquisitive eyes, she may never be allowed to leave alive. Because the deaths did no begin or end with Richard Collins...and someone''s dark and enduring homicidal passions have yet to be fully satisfied.

A woman is out to clear her cousin of murder charges after a blackmailer targeting the wealthy Carlisle family turns up dead. K.C. Carlisle and her cousin Kenneth Carlisle both grew up rich. Kenneth is a corporate lawyer in an exclusive Northern California seaside community while K.C. has a storefront office on the seedy side of town. She takes whatever kind of case walks in her door. But trouble appears one day when Francine Boutelle shows up pretending she wants to write an expose of the Carlisle family, including some dirt on K.C.''s late and highly respectable father. Francine has visited most of the family and is willing to keep the family secrets in exchange for cash. When Kenneth is accused of murdering the blackmailer, K.C. is determined to prove his innocence, no matter where the trail of blood and deception leads.

“A sassy heroine . . . [Henrie O] says what she thinks (when it serves her purposes) and pulls no punches.”—Chicago Sun-Times When arrogant media magnate Chase Prescott is nearly killed by a box of cyanide-laced candy, he dials his long-ago lover, retired newshound Henrietta O’Dwyer Collins, with a simple request: He’ll assemble all the suspects if Henrie O will kindly point out the would-be murderer. It’s a case—her first—that fills Henrie O with grave misgivings, especially when she arrives on Chase’s private island off the South Carolina coast to meet the players in this deadly drama. Among Prescott’s unstable young wife, his sullen stepson, and his toady of a secretary, she has trouble narrowing the field of suspects—even when a second attempt is made on Chase’s life. As Henrie O unearths a will and fascinating new evidence, a killer hurricane sweeps up from Cuba, threatening to maroon them in this vacation hell . . . where the trappings of luxury are put to lethal use and the secrets of the past have the power to engulf them all.

Bookstore owner Annie Darling has no time to enjoy the summer fun when a missing person case turns deadly in this mystery in the New York Times bestselling Death on Demand series. July is a hectic time for Annie and her husband, Max. Sun and scorching temperatures never fail to bring swarms of tourists to their mystery bookstore, Death on Demand, for the latest beach reads. Not to mention the whole island is buzzing with excitement over the upcoming Broward’s Rock Fourth of July dance. But after Wesley Hurst''s second wife Shell disappears during the fireworks display, Annie and Max take time out of their busy schedule to find the missing woman. Their investigation reveals a twisted tale of blackmail, betrayal, and adultery that takes them from the corridors of the island’s lovely inn to a pier lashed by pelting rain, to a gathering on the terrace of a country club where a trap is set for a calculating killer...

In sickness and in health . . . Mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance and detective Max Darling are finally tying the knot, but a bizarre sequence of events might unravel this blissful marriage before it begins. With the ceremony completed and the champagne goblets emptied, Max sweeps Annie into his arms for an amorous moment . . . when the phone rings and a woman on the other end of the line screams bloody murder! The newlyweds rush to the scene of the crime, only to discover that Ingrid Jones, Annie''s bookstore assistant, has vanished, leaving the body of a neighborhood Peeping Tom on her living room rug. As the community of Broward''s Rock, including a dotty New Age psychic and Annie''s meddling new mother-in-law, mobilizes to find the missing woman, the cold corpse puts the honeymoon plans on the shelf . . . and Annie''s love of investigation threatens to bring the big chill to Max''s hungry heart.

The next story in the Bibliomysteries series, penned by MWA Grand Master Carolyn Hart. Everyone dreams of stumbling upon a long-lost treasure in the attic or inheriting a fortune from some distant relative. But for Ellen Gallagher, the impoverished owner of a thrift shop in South Carolina, that dream comes true. She finds in her possession a first edition of Agatha Christie’s Poirot Investigates that has been signed by the author . . . and inscribed to the Queen of England. When the book disappears from her shop, Ellen must call on her friend Annie Darling, owner of the mystery bookstore Death on Demand, to track it down. The Bibliomysteries are a series of short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors.

Intrigue and foul play are no strangers to the idyllic South Carolina sea island of Broward''s Rock. Mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling and her husband, Max, who specialize in solving problems, plunge into a startling web of danger and deceit when a trio of deaths is linked to the island''s youth recreation center. With the evidence mounting against her, the center''s director seeks out Max to clear her name. When it comes to intrigue, where Max goes, Annie isn''t far behind. To save an innocent woman, the pair scrambles to unravel three complex interlinked puzzles: the mystery of three guns, the pulled-out pant pockets of one victim, and the disappearance of a teenager whose stepfather always had the last laugh—until he died.

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Death on Demand Mysteries and the Bailey Ruth Ghost Novels comes an intriguing, dangerous mystery set in the world of international art theft. Egyptologist Sheila Ramsay develops a newfound interest in MesoAmerican affairs after meeting an outspoken—and attractive—Mexico City curator, a harsh critic of museums that deal in stolen art. And her own museum gives her the perfect opportunity to see him again: a valuable Aztec manuscript needs to be returned to its rightful owners, the wealthy Ortega family. But things don’t go as planned for Sheila south of the border. An anonymous note threatens her with death if she remains in Mexico City. The curator she longed to see treats her with contempt. And the Ortegas are as mysterious as they are charming. What Sheila has stumbled into is much bigger—and more deadly—than she ever dreamed. And amid the splendor of Mexico’s ancient ruins and treacherous hillsides, Sheila will realize that there’s no one she can trust...

Carolyn Hart is one of America''s best-loved mystery writers-a multiple award-winning architect of ingenious puzzles set in atmospheric locales, featuring men and women both intriguingly complex and achingly human. And no chaaracter is more complex or human than sixty-something sleuth Henrie O, whose decades of newspapering have taught her that every fact is susect, but goodness can still be celebrated. A frantic phone call from an old and dear friend on the other side of the world sends Henrie O to the fabled city of San Antonio, Texas, in search of her friend''s devoted granddaughter, Iris Chavez. Iris had been working on San Antonio''s famous River Walk at the family-owned Tesoros Gallery, a shop renowned for its unquestioned integrity, excellence, and the priceless treasures it hunts for its rich and famous patrons. Iris has disappeared without a word and hasn''t been heard from since. Her humble apartment has been ransacked, yet nothing is missing. And nobody at Tesoros seems to care. Hidden amid the exquisite objects in the gallery and among the many family members who run the business is a secret- a secret Henrie O must uncover if she is to find Iris. Interviews with the charming matriarch, Maria Elena Garza, who created the business decades earlier, and with her children and grandchildren reveal nothing. But Henrie O suspects that Rick, who is rumored to have been Iris''s boyfriend, knows far more than he is willing to reveal. When an unsigned note summons Henrie O to the River Walk, she is stunned by what she finds. An ominous threat, followed by a horrifying murder, convinces her Iris is in terrible danger. Disgrace lies in wait for an old and respected business...and death waits for anyone who gets in the way. As only she can, Carolyn Hart transports us to a dazzling world of glamour and intrigue, shrouded by the golden shadows of priceless treasure, dark secrets and cruel deception. With an uncanny instinct for separating truth from lies, Henrie O fo

A Pulitzer Prize-winning ex-reporter and journalism teacher at ivy-covered Thorndyke University, Henrietta "Henrie O" Collins demands of her students the same steadfast dedication to the truth that was the cornerstone of her own illustrious career. So when beautiful, ambitious Maggie Winslow decides to investigate a trio of hitherto unresolved local crimes, Henrie O urges her to pursue the story with uncommon vigor. But the gifted future journalist''s zeal may have cost her her life. The next day Maggie''s corpse is discovered in Lovers'' Lane--the very site of one of the unsolved mysteries the extraordinary young woman was exploring at the time of her brutal, premature death. The police and the Thorndyke powers-that-be are rabidly against Henrie O''s involvement in the case. But, for Maggie''s sake, the stubborn, sixtysomething investigator is determined to dredge up a past everyone seems to want to keep buried even if it means placing herself firmly in a relentless killer''s path.

The murder of a Southern literary icon sends Annie Darling''s seaside town spinning in New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Hart''s 25th Death on Demand Mystery... Bookstore owner Annie Darling is hosting a party to celebrate former Broward’s Rock resident Alex Griffith and his bestselling new novel, Don’t Go Home. But after the local paper announces that Griffith aims to reveal the real-life inspirations behind his characters, perhaps the author should take his own advice. Not everyone in town is ready to give him a glowing review. As Annie attempts damage control, her friend Marian Kenyon gets in a heated argument with Griffith. It’s a fight Annie won’t soon forget—especially after the author turns up dead. Despite an array of suspects to match Griffith’s cast of characters—and a promise to her husband, Max, to steer clear of sleuthing—Annie’s not about to let the police throw the book at her friend when the real killer remains at large...

Romantic suspense amid the chaos of a world at war. The year is 1940. As England braces for invasion and the German army overruns Europe, two American sisters in Paris risk their lives to save a downed British airman from Nazi arrest. Linda Rossiter and Eleanor Masson soon realize the price they may pay when they read this ominous public notice: "All persons harbouring English soldiers must deliver same to the nearest Kommandantur not later than 20 October 1940. Those persons who continue to harbour Englishmen after this date without having notified the authorities will be shot." On Christmas Eve, the Gestapo sets a trap, and death is only a step behind the two American women. From the Trade Paperback edition.

INTRODUCING A NEW LINE OF CAROLYN HART CLASSICS, each with a new introduction by the author! Leah Devereaux is a dead woman. At least, that''s what the folks now running the Devereaux plantation tell her: Leah has been presumed dead for nineteen years--since the day that both her parents died. Leah, very much alive, has returned to South Carolina to uncover the untold story of her parents'' deaths. While some, like her cousin Merrick, welcome her, Cissy and John Edward tell her to stay away, tell her to stop meddling in secrets long kept. When a ghost known only as the Whispering Lady appears once again at the Devereaux plantation after years of absence, the locals know it''s an omen of death. Merrick and Leah may be the next targets. . . . From the Trade Paperback edition.

Four of mystery''s reigning matriarchs have joined together to concoct a delectable stew of clues, corpses, and felonious hijinks -- all spectacularly seasoned with a mother''s loving touch! In this witty and winning quartet of all-new mysteries, the incomparable Mary Daheim gives harried mom Cousin Renie from the bestselling "Bed-and-Breakfast" series a triple dose of the murderous wedding bell blues; the inimitable award-winner Carolyn Hart of "Death on Demand" fame lets madcap mother-in-law Laurel Darling take a turn at the investigative chores; the remarkable Jane Isenberg sets menopausal mother Bel Barrett loose to solve a dastardly case of nanny-cide; and the fabulous Shirley Rousseau Murphy -- whose "Joe Grey" mysteries are the cat''s meow -- enchants once again, as a delightful duo of feline mamas sinks their clawsinto a murder investigation. So sit back and enjoy the Mother of All Mystery Collections!

INTRODUCING A NEW LINE OF CAROLYN HART CLASSICS, each with a new introduction by the author! BEIJING, 1941: The ancient bones of the famed "Peking Man" are placed in two wooden crates for shipment to the United States to escape the invading Japanese army. The bones are never seen again. San Francisco, 1980s: The greatest treasure in the history of paleontology remains missing--until a frantic stranger named Jimmy calls on noted anthropologist Ellen Christie and shares a scintillating secret with her: he may have the famous bones in his possession. After allowing Dr. Christie to examine an intriguing skull in a dank Chinatown basement, Jimmy is forced to flee with the evidence, a couple of violent thugs in hot pursuit. As Ellen navigates the treachery of the city''s elite criminals along with Jimmy''s brother, Dan, her dreams of academic stardom draw closer. Unfortunately, so does danger. From the Trade Paperback edition.

The beloved and award-winning author pens an exciting new mystery series featuring a meddling, crime-solving ghost.

Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, is understandably upset. It isn''t like her p.i. husband Max to abruptly disappear—and homicide is definitely not his style. But when his car is found abandoned on a remote road with a brutally slain, once-beautiful young woman nearby and the murder weapon stashed in the trunk, Annie''s worst fears seem justified. The police have Max all but tried and convicted—except for Chief Billy Cameron, whose unshakable belief in his friend''s innocence prompts his removal from the case. And as a media circus descends on tiny Broward''s Rock, Annie will have to place her own life in jeopardy to clear her husband''s name. But time is running out—and she has only one slim chance to unmask a killer who just may have committed the perfect crime.

A young woman is convinced she''s living with a murderer among family members, lodgers, and ranch hands in New Mexico. Serena Mallory came to the huge New Mexico ranch of Castle Rock as a twelve-year-old orphan. She grew up as the ward of owner Dan McIntire. Now in her early twenties, Serena watches the ranch''s idyllic summer charm disappear when Dan dies in a riding accident. The night before his accident, she overheard him arguing with someone, and since his death, a series of strange accidents has plagued the ranch. Convinced that Dan''s accident was anything but, Serena sets out to find the guilty party.

A clever ghost springs into action to protect her former enemy from a slew of possible killers in this cozy mystery by an Agatha Award–winner. When Bailey Ruth Raeburn passed over into the great beyond, she was delighted to discover her sleuthing days would last an eternity. Joining Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions, she uses her unique advantages as a ghost—sometimes you see her, sometimes you don’t—to help those in need and ensure the wicked get their just deserts. However, on this latest mission, Bailey Ruth finds it more difficult than ever to keep up with her boss Wiggins’s rules for good spirit deportment. Not only is the woman she is supposed to save determined to thwart Bailey Ruth’s good intentions at every turn, she just so happens to be one of Bailey Ruth’s oldest enemies. Not that that should matter to one of Heaven’s best and brightest emissaries, but still, there is only so much a person can put up with—living or dead. But solving Bailey Ruth’s toughest case yet means managing a recalcitrant charge, a fraudulent medium, a mother''s heartbreak, old passions and new, and a telltale rawhide dog bone. Heaven help her! Praise for Ghost in Trouble “Charming. . . . Bailey with her sunny Pollyanna attitude makes an irresistible cozy sleuth.” —Publishers Weekly “Delightful Bailey Ruth solves the tough case with panache.” —Kirkus Reviews

A pleasure cruise for mystery buffs soon becomes a playground for a devious killer in the acclaimed author’s beloved series. Mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling has planned a murder mystery cruise in the waters off her not-always-idyllic isle of Broward’s Rock, South Carolina. Everything is going swimmingly—until one of the revelers plunges overboard. And despite hubby Max’s courageous rescue attempt, make-believe murder turns into real-life death. As the body count rises over the next few days, Annie begins to suspect that all the victims were murdered most foully, and that they are all connected in some unknown way. But the killer she seeks is more ingeniously efficient than most—having packed an intricate time bomb with an explosive mix of arson, assault, kidnapping, robbery . . . and homicide, naturally.

New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Hart presents the story of a woman with a curious ability that drops her headfirst into a world of intrigue and murder. Since her fiancé’s death, Nela Farley has been plagued by a sixth sense: She understands the thoughts of cats. In desperate need of a distraction, Nela agrees to substitute for her sister, Chloe, at her job for a charitable foundation. Chloe has even arranged a place for her sister to stay. But when Nela encounters the previous tenant’s cat, she gets a flash of thought: “...dead and gone...She loved me...skateboard on the step...” Nela wants to ignore what the cat saw, but the idea that the death of former tenant Marian Grant wasn’t an accident is something she can’t ignore. And when a detective becomes suspicious of Nela’s sister and a second murder occurs, Nela realizes she’ll have to make the most of her unwanted ability before she meets her own untimely end...

It''s getting to look a lot like Christmas on the sea island of Broward''s Rock, South Carolina. At the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, owner Annie Darling''s Yuletide preparations have to be put on hold thanks to several rather inconvenient distractions -- including murder. Across the windswept isle, in the spacious, spooky mansion of Marguerite Dumaney Ladson, a motley crew is gathering for the onetime movie star''s gala Xmas/birthday bash. And when it turns deadly, it''s Annie who has to prove the innocence of the most disturbing suspect: her own deadbeat dad.

When retired newspaper reporter Henrietta O''Dwyer Collins, Henrie O to her friends, receives a call for help, she discovers that love once kindled never burns to ashes. Although she refused Jimmy Lennox''s marriage proposal, there is still a special place for him in her heart. She wished him well when he found happiness with Sophia Montgomery, world-famous documentary filmmaker and stepmother to the now grown heirs of a great fortune. Sophia is at odds with the heirs, and Jimmy fears for her safety. He asks Henrie O to come along with the family on a Baltic cruise. Henrie O can''t turn down her old friend, though old passions are stirred when he calls. On the voyage she soon realizes this dysfunctional family is plunging toward destruction and one of the travelers has murder in mind. As the ports of call pass—Copenhagen, Gdynia, Tallinn, St. Petersburg—death inexorably approaches. Henrie O works desperately to save Jimmy and to bring hope to lives blighted by anger, resentment, and heartbreak.

Mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance didn''t really want to go to her neighbor''s Valentine Day masked ball -- particularly not after the voluptuous brunette made a pass at Annie''s husband, Max. So when her dizzy mother-in-law, Laurel, made a surprise visit to Broward''s Rock Island, Annie thought it would be a perfect excuse to skip the party. She should have known better: True to form, Laurel accepted the invitation for all three of them. But the biggest surprise of all came at the party''s end, when Annie found the amorous hostess in the gazebo--murdered.

A woman caught in a loveless marriage discovers love again in the midst of desolation. Romantic suspense amid the chaos of a world at war. Catharine Cavanaugh is caught in a loveless marriage. Married to a British diplomat, she goes through the motions of playing the dutiful American wife in war- time London, while nightly German bombers bring terror and death to the city. Then she meets American war correspondent Jack Maguire and discovers hope and love again in the midst of desolation. But war soon comes between them. When Catharine and her husband are unexpectedly transferred to the Philippines, Jack follows. Shortly after their arrival, the Japanese attack. The trapped civilians, including Catharine and Jack, are forced into a harrowing adventure to escape the marauding Japanese army. This taut page-turner vividly reveals how ordinary people can become heroes when forced to confront heart-rending decisions in almost impossible circumstances. From the Trade Paperback edition.

In this charming cozy mystery, a South Carolina island bookstore owner investigates when the local July 4th celebration is halted by murder. Master mystery spinner Carolyn Hart gives us the tenth high-spirited entry in her Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award-winning Death on Demand series. The most delectable sleuthing couple since Nick met Nora, Annie and Max Darling manage to find quite a bit of murder in their allegedly safe and serene South Carolina island resort town. After all, murder is Annie’s business—well, sort of. She’s the proprietor of the popular Death on Demand mystery bookstore and cafe, and her establishment seems to attract trouble like Annie’s pesky felines, Dorothy L. and Agatha, attract hairballs. Now, Annie and Max watch their Fourth of July holiday explode not only with fun and fireworks, but with murder as well. The library board wants to declare its independence from new member, retired Brigadier General Charlton “Bud” Hatch, a man accustomed to being in charge. Hatch’s takeover attitude has alienated everyone in town, especially the women. But Annie finds it difficult to ignore him at a crowded patriotic festival—particularly when he’s shot dead before her eyes... Praise for Yankee Doodle Dead “Rich in Southern atmosphere (lots of live oak, Spanish moss and the ever-present smell of the salt marsh), populated by a diverse and engaging cast, including the fallible, endearing leads, and following a deftly constructed plot line, this tale is charming—and gripping.” —Publishers Weekly

Max ignores a woman''s request for help until Annie hears about it and seeks the woman out in time to hear her final words.

One of America''s most beloved mystery writers, Carolyn G. Hart, the Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award-winning author, returns to her original mystery series that features Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand Bookstore, and her husband, Max, with Mint Julep Murder. Normally, Annie Laurence Darling would be eagerly awaiting her trip to Head Island, where this year''s Dixie Book Festival is being held. But this year Annie has agreed to be the author liaison to five authors honored with the much-coveted Dixie Book Festival Medallions, and she fears she is going to have her hands full juggling murderous egos. What Annie doesn''t count on is the untimely death of ambitious Mint Julep Press publisher Kenneth Hazlitt. Hazlitt arrives at the Festival peddling a proposal for Song of the South, a trashy roman clef that details the indiscretions of some famous Southern authors at a writers'' conference--writers who more than resemble the Dixie Festival Medallion winners. When Hazlitt drops dead after drinking a hit of bourbon from his private stock, the evidence points to Annie--the fatal glass is imprinted with her fingerprints. As more and more evidence points her way, Annie and Max must act fast to catch a wily killer...before the police throw the book at Annie!

Being dead can''t put a damper on spirited, holiday-loving Bailey Ruth Raeburn. Christmas is a time for family and giving, and a wealthy woman in Adelaide, Oklahoma, is about to embrace both. Discovering that she has a young grandson, the dowager decides to change her will to leave the bulk of her fortune to the young boy—an alteration that stuns the rest of her family. But a scrooge of a determined heir makes sure she never signs the new document. When she is found dead, it''s up to that irrepressible spirit Bailey Ruth—on assignment from Wiggins and Heaven''s Department of Good Intentions—to protect a little boy, foil a murderer, and save Christmas. There''s only one teeny hitch: how can Bailey Ruth figure out which family member was desperate enough to kill when everyone has a motive?

When mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance is invited to teach "The Three Great Ladies of the Mystery" class at Chastain Community College, the sometime sleuth discovers that all is not strictly academic in Chastain''s hallowed halls of learning. And when a shocking scandal in the school newspaper erupts in a suicide and two violent deaths, Professor Laurance enlists the talents of her new hubby, private eye Max Darling, and dons her thinking cap to probe intrigue and vengeance among Chastain''s faculty. A Dangerous Thing Max and Annie, with dubious help from three of their own great ladies of the mystery -- Annie''s pixilated mother-in-law, a batty local dowager, and a Christie crime fanatic -- learn that just about everyone at the school had means, motive, and access to the murder weapons. From the secretly boozing professor of advertising to the muscle-bound campus cad who barters passing grades for a little extracurricular activity, anyone on the faculty is a possible killer -- waiting to strike again!