Sleuth Sisters Mysteries

Faye meets a woman at a local nursing home who claims she doesn't belong there. Investigation leads some intriguing questions: Why did someone force Clara out of her home? How did one neighbor die and another lose his home to fire? And can a dog and a dozen chickens be part of a daring rescue?

When a midnight murder comes to Allport, Barb is observed conducting one of her "Correction Events" nearby. The police want to question the Grammar Nazi, and Retta insists the only way to save Barb's reputation is to solve the crime before her secret activities are revealed to the whole town. The victim was a newcomer to Allport who was engaged to marry a local businessman's attractive but spoiled daughter. Retta finds Frannie Habedank particularly irritating, since the younger woman commands the attention of just about any man who comes near her. Perhaps rightly and perhaps not, Retta is convinced Frannie killed her fiancé. As the Sleuth Sisters probe the mystery, they learn that Frannie's father wasn't completely happy with his prospective son-in-law. Many back in his home town considered Steve Deline a "slug," and even the man's own brother hasn't got much good to say about him. It's difficult to eliminate any suspect, but who would take violent action and end his life with a blunt metal object? On a different case the sisters uncover a puppy mill, which results in the seizure of two dozen neglected and pitiful dogs. Faye's whole-hearted plunge into helping with their recovery means she's distracted from other events. As Faye re-homes dogs and Barb frets about being exposed as the Grammar Nazi, Retta wrestles with a question of her own. She has a life-changing decision to make by the end of the year, and it's already December. She'd like some advice, but when everyone she knows is involved, where can a woman get objective input? Though personal issues get in the way, the sisters know that when the situation takes a perilous turn, they can count on each other. Combine resources. Stand together. Sister power!

In Book 7, Retta and her FBI agent boyfriend stop in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the night. Lars goes out on a mysterious errand and disappears, leaving a text message that says he's dumping Retta for an old flame. The police take the message at face value, but Retta, sure it's a lie, calls in sisters Faye and Barb. As they begin following leads, they meet three sisters who might be future versions of them: Betty, a sweetheart, who loves the Green Bay Packers, DeeAnne, a dramatic type who is always in acting mode, and Lydia, a business-like grump. They say they don't know where Lars could be, but something doesn't smell right at their antique/vintage shop located in an old mill, and it isn't just the many cats that roam the place freely. Retta is soon captured and held prisoner. She escapes, is caught, and escapes again... and again, because Retta isn't the type to give up. Barb and Faye search frantically for her, with Styx the Newfoundland as their clumsy-but-dedicated ally. Their investigation leads to stolen Iraqi artifacts, an old farmhouse in the sticks, and assistance from a member of the Green Bay Packers. Knowledge is power, but success had better come quickly, because the criminals' plan is for Retta-and anyone else who gets in their way-to die.