Liv Green works cleaning houses. One client is a famous author (a recluse) whose books she loves. Over time, much to her surprise, a friendship starts, but then Essie, the author dies. Surprises continue when she is contacted by Essie's solicitor and told that a) she cannot tell anyone of Essie's death until November 1 (six months away), and b) she is to finish the novel Essie was working on. Why that date, and why was she picked to finish the book? Find the answers in The Messy Lives of Book People, by Phaedra Patrick.

Guilty Creatures: a Menagerie of Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards is one of the nice collections of older short stories from British Library Crime Classics. In this case, an animal is involved with each them, sometimes even solving the mystery! I think my favorite was the one about earthworms.

Reading Hermit With Dog