Most Popular Books by Kay Andrews

Some people stay all summer long on the idyllic island of Belle Isle, North Carolina. Others come only for the weekends-and the mix between the regulars and “the weekenders” can sometimes make the sparks fly. Riley Griggs has a season of good times with friends and family ahead of her on Belle Isle when things take an unexpected turn. While waiting for her husband to arrive on the ferry one Friday afternoon, Riley is confronted by a process server who thrusts papers into her hand. And her husband is nowhere to be found. So she turns to her island friends for help and support, but it turns out that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens...in a murderous way. Cocktail parties aside, Riley must find a way to investigate the secrets of Belle Island, the husband she might not really know, and the summer that could change everything. Told with Mary Kay Andrews’ trademark blend of humor and warmth, and with characters and a setting that you can’t help but fall for, the New York Times bestseller The Weekenders is the perfect summer escape.

Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads delivers her next page-turner for the summer with The Newcomer. In trouble and on the run... After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya’s ex; sleazy real estate entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic Letty heeds her late sister’s warnings: “If anything bad happens to me—it’s Evan. Promise me you’ll take Maya and run. Promise me.” With a trunkful of emotional baggage... So Letty grabs her sister’s Mercedes and hits the road with her wailing four-year-old niece Maya. Letty is determined to out-run Evan and the law, but run to where? Tanya, a woman with a past shrouded in secrets, left behind a “go-bag” of cash and a big honking diamond ring—but only one clue: a faded magazine story about a sleepy mom-and-pop motel in a Florida beach town with the improbable name of Treasure Island. She sheds her old life and checks into an uncertain future at The Murmuring Surf Motel. The No Vacancy sign is flashing & the sharks are circling... And that’s the good news. Because The Surf, as the regulars call it, is the winter home of a close-knit flock of retirees and snowbirds who regard this odd-duck newcomer with suspicion and down-right hostility. As Letty settles into the motel’s former storage room, she tries to heal Maya’s heartache and unravel the key to her sister’s shady past, all while dodging the attention of the owner’s dangerously attractive son Joe, who just happens to be a local police detective. Can Letty find romance as well as a room at the inn—or will Joe betray her secrets and put her behind bars? With danger closing in, it’s a race to find the truth and right the wrongs of the past.

"Andrews perfectly balances the second chance-romance with the twisty mystery against a beachy backdrop that will please any armchair traveler." --Publishers Weekly "A fun, heart-warming, and intriguing summer read. For readers who’d enjoy a blend of friendships (old and new), budding romance, and secrets held within the walls of a hotel that needs rescuing, as in Elin Hilderbrand’s The Hotel Nantucket." --Library Journal Book your summer escape with a "mesmerizing mix of mystery and romance" (Publishers Weekly, starred) from the New York Times bestselling author of The Homewreckers and The Newcomer. Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . . . Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair. Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach read with depth and heart.

Available for the first time in this stunning electronic edition, THE MARY KAY ANDREWS COLLECTION is sure to delight the blockbuster bestselling author''s legions of fans. Includes: SUMMER RENTAL Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. A month in North Carolina''s Outer Banks is just what each of them needs. Ty Bazemore is their landlord. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he''s ever cared about. Maryn Shackleford is a stranger on the run who needs just a few things: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. SPRING FEVER Annajane Hudgens truly believes she is over her ex-husband, Mason Bayless. They''ve been divorced for four years, she''s engaged to a new, terrific guy, and she''s ready to leave the small town where she and Mason had so much history. She is so over Mason that she has absolutely no problem attending his wedding to the beautiful, intelligent, delightful Celia. But when fate intervenes and the wedding is called to a halt as the bride is literally walking down the aisle, Annajane begins to realize that maybe she''s been given a second chance. Maybe everything happens for a reason. And maybe, just maybe, she wants Mason back. LADIES'' NIGHT Grace Stanton''s life as a rising media star and beloved lifestyle blogger takes a surprising turn when she catches her husband cheating and torpedoes his pricey sports car straight into the family swimming pool. Grace suddenly finds herself locked out of her palatial home, checking account, and even the blog she has worked so hard to develop in her signature style. Moving in with her widowed mother, who owns and lives above a rundown beach bar called The Sandbox, is less than ideal. So is attending court-mandated weekly "divorce recovery" therapy sessions with three other women and one man for whom betrayal seems to be the only commonality. When their "divorce coach" starts to act suspiciously, they decide to start having their own Wednesday "Ladies'' Night" sessions at The Sandbox, and the unanticipated bonds that develop lead the members of the group to try and find closure in ways they never imagined.

Summer begins with Mary Kay Andrews, in this delightful summer read about flipping houses, and finding true love. "Andrews (The Newcomer) sparkles in this fast-paced tale. Andrews’s fans will eat this up." —Publishers Weekly "A fun story with twists and turns that will appeal to romantics and cold-case fans alike." —Kirkus Hattie Kavanaugh went to work restoring homes for Kavanaugh & Son Restorations at eighteen, married the boss’s son at twenty, and became a widow at twenty-five. Now, she’s passionate about her work, but that’s the only passion in her life. “Never love something that can’t love you back,” is advice her father-in-law gives her, but Hattie doesn’t follow it and falls head-over-heels for a money pit of a house. She’s determined to make it work, but disaster after disaster occurs, and Hattie’s dream might cost Kavanaugh & Son their livelihood. Hattie needs money, and fast. When a slick Hollywood producer shows up in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, she gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: star in a beach house renovation reality show called The Homewreckers, cast against a male lead who may be a love interest, or may be the ultimate antagonist. Soon, there’s more at stake than bad pipes and dry rot: during the demolition, evidence comes to light that points to the mysterious disappearance of a young wife and mother years before. With a burned out detective investigating the case, an arsonist on the loose, two men playing with her emotions, and layers upon layers of vintage wallpaper causing havoc, it''s a question of who will flip, who will flop, and if Hattie will ever get her happily-ever-after.

New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads Mary Kay Andrews delivers her next blockbuster, Hello Summer. It’s a new season... Conley Hawkins left her family’s small town newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon, in the rearview mirror years ago. Now a star reporter for a big-city paper, Conley is exactly where she wants to be and is about to take a fancy new position in Washington, D.C. Or so she thinks. For small town scandals... When the new job goes up in smoke, Conley finds herself right back where she started, working for her sister, who is trying to keep The Silver Bay Beacon afloat—and she doesn’t exactly have warm feelings for Conley. Soon she is given the unenviable task of overseeing the local gossip column, “Hello, Summer.” And big-time secrets. Then Conley witnesses an accident that ends in the death of a local congressman—a beloved war hero with a shady past. The more she digs into the story, the more dangerous it gets. As an old heartbreaker causes trouble and a new flame ignites, it soon looks like their sleepy beach town is the most scandalous hotspot of the summer.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Weekenders comes a delightful new novel about new love, old secrets, and the kind of friendship that transcends generations. When ninety-nine-year-old heiress Josephine Bettendorf Warrick summons Brooke Trappnell to Talisa Island, her 20,000 acre remote barrier island home, Brooke is puzzled. Everybody in the South has heard about the eccentric millionaire mistress of Talisa, but Brooke has never met her. Josephine’s cryptic note says she wants to discuss an important legal matter with Brooke, who is an attorney, but Brooke knows that Mrs. Warrick has long been a client of a prestigious Atlanta law firm. Over a few meetings, the ailing Josephine spins a tale of old friendships, secrets, betrayal and a long-unsolved murder. She tells Brooke she is hiring her for two reasons: to protect her island and legacy from those who would despoil her land, and secondly, to help her make amends with the heirs of the long dead women who were her closest friends, the girls of The High Tide Club—so named because of their youthful skinny dipping escapades—Millie, Ruth and Varina. When Josephine dies with her secrets intact, Brooke is charged with contacting Josephine’s friends’ descendants and bringing them together on Talisa for a reunion of women who’ve actually never met. The High Tide Club is Mary Kay Andrews at her Queen of the Beach Reads best, a compelling and witty tale of romance thwarted, friendships renewed, justice delivered, and true love found. Praise for The Weekenders: “This book has all the makings of a beach read...The perfect blend of drama, humor, intrigue, and just a touch of murder.” —Bustle “Andrews has this ‘perfect beach read’ label down pat—and then some. The Weekenders is not just good, it is beyond good... Summer doesn’t truly begin without a Mary Kay Andrews book in your beach bag,so here is another winner and Top Pick just for you.” —RT Book Reviews (Top Pick) “Andrews’ novels...are the epitome of relaxing yet involving summer reads, and her latest is no exception.” —Booklist

Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction... Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she''s made over the past decade of her life. Julia--whose caustic wit covers up her wounds--has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can''t hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life. And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world...though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina''s Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs. Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he''s hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he''s ever cared about. Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs? Mary Kay Andrews'' novel is the story of five people questioning everything they ever thought they knew about life. Five people on a journey that will uncover their secrets and point them on the path to forgiveness. Five people who each need a sea change, and one month in a summer rental that might just give it to them. Summer Rental is one of Library Journal''s Best Women''s Fiction Books of 2011

“Little white lies have never been so risky—or so much fun.” — Orlando Sentinel New York Times bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews delivers a tantalizing tale about an abandoned Atlanta housewife and mother who tells one tiny white lie that sets her world spiraling outrageously out of control. This winning and wonderful romp focuses on all the important things in life: marriage and divorce, mothers and daughters, friendship and betrayal. Throw in small town secrets, one woman’s lifelong quest for home, and the perfect chicken salad recipe, and you have an ideal escape for fans of Fannie Flagg, Jennifer Crusie, Adriana Trigiani, Emily Giffin, and the Sweet Potato Queens.

The New York Times bestselling author of Summer Rental delivers her delicious new escapist novel about small towns, old flames, and deep secrets Annajane Hudgens truly believes she is over her ex-husband, Mason Bayless. They''ve been divorced for four years, she''s engaged to a new, terrific guy, and she''s ready to leave the small town where she and Mason had so much history. She is so over Mason that she has absolutely no problem attending his wedding to the beautiful, intelligent, delightful Celia. But when fate intervenes and the wedding is called to a halt as the bride is literally walking down the aisle, Annajane begins to realize that maybe she''s been given a second chance. Maybe everything happens for a reason. And maybe, just maybe, she wants Mason back. But there are secrets afoot in this small southern town. On the peaceful surface of Hideaway Lake, Annajane discovers that the past is never really gone. Even if there are people determined to keep Annajane from getting what she wants, happiness might be hers for the taking, and the life she once had with Mason in this sleepy lake town might be in her future.

What if you knew that at birth you were given a guiding life map that was designed for you only, and you knew that the map was an exact reflection of the stars and their positions at the very moment of your birth? Each life mapastrology star chartcan be read and interpreted in many ways. Each sun, moon, planet, and astrological sign symbolically reflects a perfect order and plan for each individual. This book focuses on the premise that each life chart map is meant for good and meant to be interpreted as a personal beneficial guiding light. It is author Kay Andrewss belief that each life is programmed for positive growth; that each soul incarnates with an intent and plan to develop and express his or her innate goodness, no matter how difficult or challenging lifes lessons; and that each individual soul is filled with an inherent abundance of love and a guiding spirit light leading to self-understanding and personal life fulfilling purpose.

"Antiques dealer Weezie Foley and her best friend BeBe Loudermilk are feeling a little overwhelmed as the December holidays approach in Savannah. Weezie is trying to prepare for her Christmas wedding to Daniel Stipanek while he''s off in New York City working as a guest chef for the beautiful Carlotta Carlucci. The very pregnant BeBe is set to deliver at any minute, although she refuses to marry the baby''s father, even though she''s in love with him."--Library Journal.

Landing a catch like Talmadge Evans III got Eloise "Weezie" Foley a jewel of a town house in Savannah''s historic district. Divorcing Tal got her exiled to the backyard carriage house, where she has launched a spite-fest with Tal''s new fiancÉe, the elegant Caroline DeSantos. An antiques picker, Weezie combs Savannah''s steamy back alleys and garage sales for treasures when she''s not dealing with her loopy relatives or her hunky ex-boyfriend. But an unauthorized sneak preview at a sale lands Weezie smack in the middle of magnolia-scented murder, mayhem...and more. Dirty deals simmer all around her—just as her relationship with the cutest chef in town heats up and she finds out how delicious love can be the second time around.

Hired for a wedding she hopes will secure her career, florist Cara designs beautiful arrangements in spite of a personal belief that love does not exist, an opinion that is challenged when the bride goes missing.

It''s the week before Christmas, and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to garnish her shop for the Savannah historical district decorating contest, which she intends to win. Weezie is ready to shoot herself with her glue gun by the time she''s done, but the results are stunning. She''s certainly one-upped the owners of the trendy boutique around the corner, but suddenly things start to go missing from her display, and there seems to be a mysterious midnight visitor to her shop. Still, Weezie has high hopes for the holiday—maybe in the form of an engagement ring from her chef boyfriend. But Daniel, always moody at the holidays, seems more distant than usual. Throw in Weezie''s decidedly odd family, a 1950s Christmas tree pin, and even a little help from the King himself (Elvis, that is), and maybe there will be a pocketful of miracles for Weezie this Christmas Eve. Back by popular demand, this new edition of the holiday classic includes an essay by the author, tips for "keeping the happy in holidays," additional recipes, and more.

“Callahan and her cohort of continuing characters...are great company...If Happy Never After were a song, we’d be dancing in the streets.” — San Jose Mercury News In the fourth installment of Andrews’s acclaimed series about Callahan Garrity, Atlanta’s most inquisitive cleaning lady, she sets out to prove the innocence of a rock idol of her childhood. Callahan Garrity is a former Atlanta cop, a part-time sleuth and full-time owner of House Mouse, a cleaning service that tidies up after Atlanta’s elite. She and her coterie of devoted helpers can ransack a house for clues faster than it takes a fingerprint to set. Callahan needs all the help she can get trying to keep Rita Fontaine, a washed-up 1960s teenage rock star, out of jail. It’s nothing less than murder when Stu Hightower, the vain, temperamental president of a thriving Atlanta recording company, is found dead in the designer den of his posh home. His only companions are the slug in his heart and Rita, dead-drunk and looking guilty. Callahan believes in Rita’s innocence because, after all, Hightower had made more enemies than records in his career. But discovering who hated him enough to kill him could send her floating down a river of lost dreams without a paddle.

From the New York Times bestselling author, a cookbook full of her favorite recipes.

After her boss in a high-powered Washington public relations firm is caught in a political scandal, fledgling lobbyist Dempsey Jo Killebrew is left almost broke, unemployed, and homeless. Out of options, she reluctantly accepts her father''s offer to help refurbish Birdsong, the old family place he recently inheru00adited in Guthrie, Georgia. But, oh, is Dempsey in for a surprise when she arrives in Guthrie. "Bird Droppings" would more aptly describe the moldering Pepto Bismol-pink dump with duct-taped windows and a driveway full of junk. There''s also a murderously grumpy old lady, one of Dempsey''s distant relations, who has claimed squatter''s rights and isn''t moving out. Ever. All Dempsey can do is roll up her sleeves and get to work. And before long, what started as a job of necessity somehow becomes a labor of love and, ultimately, a journey that takes her to a place she never expected&—back home again.

Television chef Gina Foxton finds her efforts to secure a job on a national cooking channel complicated by her unexpected attraction to a rival chef with an off-putting redneck personality.

From Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author of Hello, Summer, comes a novella celebrating the magic of Christmas and second chances in The Santa Suit. When newly-divorced Ivy Perkins buys an old farmhouse sight unseen, she is definitely looking for a change in her life. The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love—but Ivy didn''t bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it''s a full-time job sorting through all of it. At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit—beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand: it''s from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold? Ivy''s quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.

Greer Hennessy is a struggling movie location scout. Her last location shoot ended in disaster when a film crew destroyed property on an avocado grove. And Greer ended up with the blame. Now Greer has been given one more chance—a shot at finding the perfect undiscovered beach town for a big budget movie. She zeroes in on a sleepy Florida panhandle town. There''s one motel, a marina, a long stretch of pristine beach and an old fishing pier with a community casino—which will be perfect for the film''s climax—when the bad guys blow it up in an all-out assault on the townspeople. Greer slips into town and is ecstatic to find the last unspoilt patch of the Florida gulf coast. She takes a room at the only motel in town, and starts working her charm. However, she finds a formidable obstacle in the town mayor, Eben Thinadeaux. Eben is a born-again environmentalist who''s seen huge damage done to the town by a huge paper company. The bay has only recently been re-born, a fishing industry has sprung up, and Eben has no intention of letting anybody screw with his town again. The only problem is that he finds Greer way too attractive for his own good, and knows that her motivation is in direct conflict with his. Will true love find a foothold in this small beach town before it''s too late and disaster strikes? Told with Mary Kay Andrews inimitable wit and charm, the New York Times bestseller Beach Town is this year''s summer beach read!

“Truly exciting...[Andrews] has moved into the winner’s circle with Heart Trouble.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch The fifth installment of this popular series sends cleaning lady/sleuth Callahan Garrity after the killer of the most hated woman in Atlanta. Former cop, currently co-owner of the House Mouse housecleaning service, and freelance p.i., Callahan Garrity raises eyebrows when she accepts an assignment from the most hated person in Atlanta — a wealthy white socialite who killed a young Black girl in a drunken hit-and-run and was punished with no more than a slap on the wrist. Even Callahan’s “Mice” are grumbling. But when a roadside murder turns up the heat on the racial tensions that have been simmering dangerously since Whitney Albright Dobbs received her laughably light sentence, Callahan realizes she’ll have to pull out all the stops to trap a mean, mad killer — for the sake of justice and a city that’s threatening to explode.

This 100 page prequel novella to Mary Kay Andrews''s bestselling novel Beach Town is sure to delight fans and new readers alike. Greer Hennessy is a movie location scout whose latest project has literally gone up in flames. After an avocado field accidentally catches fire on the set of her new movie, she is out of a job and practically run out of town. With her feisty grandmother Dearie, a Golden Age starlet who still has a lot of vigor left in her, complicating her life, Greer needs a bit of a rest. But Greer''s own mother then drops a bombshell on her that will change Greer''s life completely, and raise questions about her own father that she can''t ignore. In desperate need of a second chance, can Greer find what she''s looking for in the one last job she can get: a movie called BEACH TOWN? But first, she needs to find the perfect spot...

“Fresh, confident, intelligent and amusing. Grab a cold drink, put your feet up, and enjoy yourself.” — Sue Grafton After ten years of cleaning up the dirt on Atlanta''s streets, former cop Callahan Garrity is trading in her badge for a broom and a staff of house cleaners. But she soon finds herself right back in the middle of a mystery when a client''s pretty, pious nineteen-year-old nanny is gone ... along with the jewelry, silver, and a few rather sensitive real estate documents. Soon Callahan and her crew of eccentric cleaners are involved in a job messier than any they''ve ever encountered. Illicit love triangles, crooked business deals, long-distance scams— it''s going to require some industrial-strength sleuthing on Callahan''s part to solve this one.

“Callahan Garrity mops up the scene in an Atlanta neighborhood where murder meets its match in this feisty, funny heroine. STRANGE BREW offers up a tidy mystery witha polished writing style and industrial strength suspense.” — Sue Grafton The sixth book in the series finds Callahan Garrity facing a brew of community troubles - as her bohemian Atlanta neighborhood morphs into a trendy haven for yuppies - and an old flame. Sleuth Callahan Garrity has cautiously watched her hometown be transformed - and just as she fears, too much cappuccino and new money can be a bad mix. When the young owner of a microbrewery looking to score prime real estate turns up dead, neighborhood local Wuvvy – an aging flower child and the brewster’s biggest foe – becomes the prime suspect. Digging for evidence to clear Wuvvy, Callahan isn’t prepared for the succulent secrets she finds, nor the shocking truths that force her to reassess old friendships and an old love.

Cut off from her palatial home and checking account after an act of post-divorce rage forces her to move in with her widowed mother and attend court-mandated group therapy, rising media star Grace Stanton bonds with three fellow patients who she helps plot respective pursuits of justice and closure.

“The prose is tart and lively, the storytelling swift-paced, and the large cast and multiple plot lines deftly handled.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution In the third book in this acclaimed series, Callahan Garrity runs afoul of her own family when she insists on investigating the carjacking death of the cousin she idolized. Some people might call Callahan Garrity nosy, but she prefers to think of her tendency toward snooping as a healthy interest in the truth. So when news of her cousin Patti’s death reaches her, Callahan shakes off her House Mouse cleaning uniform to don her detective’s cap. It’s not that she doesn’t have confidence in the Atlanta police—she used to be among their ranks—it’s just that the crime seems too incongruous with Patti’s suburban life to be an accident.

“Bright and sassy.” — New York Times Book Review The second entry in the thoroughly original and witty series about Callahan Garrity in which the cleaning lady cum sleuth runs afoul of right-wing radicals and a dangerous collector when she’s hired to find the valuable and controversial diary of a Civil War madam. Former Atlanta police officer Callahan is known for scrubbing all kinds of muck, but she has no idea what she’s getting herself into when she is hired by Elliott Littlefield, a notorious Atlanta antiques dealer. Right from the start, Callahan’s job turns into a lively quest to find a priceless Civil War diary penned by an infamous madam. Soon Callahan and her team become entangled with a motley group of Civil War collectors, right-wing extremists, and nosy teens, making the case messier and tougher to clean. The Callahan Garrity mysteries always entertain and delight!

Ex-Atlanta cop-turned-house-cleaning entrepreneur Callahan Garrity doesn''t know what she is getting for Christmas, but she never expects the gift that arrives at her door: her estranged, ne''er-do-well brother, Brian, and his adorable three-year-old daughter, Maura. A rebel who''s been in and out of trouble most of his life, Brian''s deep in it now since he illegally abducted Maura from under the nose of his shrewish former wife. When the beautiful child''s mother is found murdered, the police come looking for Brian. And now, to save her brother and her holiday, Callahan -- along with her irascible mom, Edna, and a gaggle of House Mouse employees -- must uncover the truth and a killer, even if it means digging around the roots of her own family tree and exposing the rot underneath.

Welcome to the wonderful world of bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews, where the bourbon is cold, the manners are genteel, and a cheating varmint of an ex-fianc gets the comeuppance he so richly deserves.