Amber Winslow needs a place to go. Somewhere safe and where a certain someone cannot find her. She heads for her grandmother's fancy retirement community in Arizona. They don't know each other all that well, in fact, they've never met face to face. Amber's mother has made sure of that, but, as it turns out, they have a lot n common. There are many interesting characters in the facility, including the Admiral, who is found dead shortly after Amber's arrival. There is also a missing family heirloom. His family (who never visited) is angry over this and demands something be done. Amber's grandmother is arrested for the murder and theft. This puts Amber on the trail to solve it (she's sort of a PI in training, after all). Some interesting twists here, rather enjoyed this read. :-) Murder Runs in the Family is by Tamara Berry.

As we've learned from past tales there is often a new, interim priest in St. Germaine and so is the case in The Cantor Wore Crinolines, by Mark Schweizer, the 11th in his Liturgical Mystery series. Groundhog day usually isn't a religious holiday, but this priest wants to have a mass that night: "St Groundelmas". What should the choir sing? Three houses have been auctioned off, a bit odd, perhaps, in that there were so many this time, but no one things too much about it. Until the bodies, yes plural, are found. One in each of the houses, in a closet, posed and dressed for church. The settings are straight out of the trashy book the local Blue Hills Bookworms book club is reading, down to the professions of each victim. Can Hayden and his crew figure everything out before the special mass on February 2nd? Another great entry in this series, pay attention to the names in the 'bad' writing sections as Hayden continues on his quest to write in the style of his hero, Raymond Chandler.

Reading Hermit With Dog