An explosion in the middle of the night plummets local muralist Josephine Stuart out of bed and down the street to determine which of her neighbors' homes in sleepy Aromas, California, has been destroyed. When she discovers fire trucks and police vehicles surrounding the Hooley home, she fears that the elderly brother/sister residents have both been killed in the blast. That is, until the next morning when she discovers ninety-year-old Emmett Hooley asleep on her couch. Turns out, Emmett wasn't at home when his house was blown to bits, he was in a secluded shack behind it where he built...

Mario Portello is run over by a black sedan while sitting at his desk at Ralph's Roller Rink. Josephine Stuart happens to be painting a mural at the rink the day he is rubbed out, making her the only witness to the hit-and-run event. Everyone assumes it's an accident caused by an octogenarian with bi-focal vision and a lead foot. From what Josephine saw, however; she believes the hit was intentionally carried out by a shrewd killer. The police are slow to believe her theory. Mario's family and acquaintances did not like him, but Josephine must look beyond dislike and find someone with a real...

Scent of a $windle is flush with provocative foreign intrigue and unforgettable characters--including a menagerie of animals that consist of a dog, a cockatoo, a goat, and a rooster. A disturbingly tragic murder has upset the balance of life on the white carpets of Prunedale, California. Muralist Josephine Stuart is keeping a promise by house-sitting for well-to-do Mr. and Mrs. Trippy who plan to be in Europe for thirty days. When the Trippys' neighbor is murdered, they inherit the victim's cockatoo Boris. So, unfortunately, Josephine becomes caretaker not only of their house, but also the...

Bryndis Palmer, owner of The Neglected Word bookstore, invites her fourteen-year-old niece Frida to visit her so that the precocious, Jane Austen-loving young girl can accompany Bryn to the "Midwest Booklovers' Convention" being held in nearby Saint Louis. Never mind that Bryn has just broken up with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Holt Furst, or that said boyfriend has suddenly disappeared from his apartment above her shop--possibly in a violent kidnapping. Bryndis dutifully heads to the airport to pick up Frida, only to discover that Frida has also disappeared--reportedly swooped up by a...