The third Polly Deacon novel finds our heroine in the unlikely (and uncomfortable) job of designing a mascot (Kountry Kow) for a new mega-grocery store, despite vitriolic opposition by local merchants, including her aunt. This is nasty enough, but when allegations of municipal corruption arise concerning the sale of the property on which the store will stand, Polly s sleuthing instincts take over, to the usual chagrin of her sometimes boyfriend, surly Detective Mark Becker. But the scene starts to get really ugly when people start dying - not exactly the family environment that the...

In the fourth Polly Deacon mystery, pregnant and grumpy, Polly yearns to escape the increasingly annoying advice of family and friends. When an opportunity comes up to travel to England to attend a puppetry conference, she jumps at it, in spite of her "delicate condition." The trouble starts when someone tries to steal her luggage at the airport, and by the time she arrives in Canterbury, she knows someone s stalking her. When another woman is found dead, a mangled puppet nearby, the question arises - is Polly next? Set against the backdrop of the ancient town where Thomas Becket was...

There is a killer at work in the sleepy village of Cedar Falls. The peaceful order of puppet-maker Polly Deacon s back-to-nature rural life is violently interrupted when she finds her best friend Francy s abusive husband lying dead in the dump with a hole in his chest. What s worse, Francy can t remember what happened the night of the murder. The cops soon get involved and in more ways than one, as Polly finds herself falling for hunky officer Mark Becker. Afraid that the police will arrest Francy for the murder and exasperated with their ineptitude, Polly decides that only she can get to...