It's been a rough few weeks for county magistrate MacLaren Yarbrough. She's just moved into town, but left her heart behind in the farmhouse where she raised her kids. Her husband's no help: he's been a grump ever since he was shot a year ago. And, to top things off, MacLaren wakes up one morning to find both a buffalo and the son of a secret lover from her past, Burlin Bullock, on her front lawn. It's hard to tell which of the two are least welcome.

Now, with the blast from her past helping his son campaign for governor, Mac finds herself in a tough spot. For soon bodies start piling up and the evidence points in an alarming direction -- towards Burlin and Mac's secret history. With the press, her friends and the local gossip hot on her trail, Mac has to find the killer before she loses her husband or her life.

British Cozies beware! With writers like Patricia Sprinkle on the scene, people may soon be turning their coaches away from Regency England and driving a beat-up pickup to the Southern mystery neighborhood. In When Will the Dead Lady Sing?, Sprinkle mixes southern charm with southern quirkiness, stirs in a light romance as sweetener, and serves a mystery as refreshing and fun as a glass of sweet tea in August. While the text is sprinkled with a few too many references to early books in the series, the book is overall entertaining and fun. Kick back on the porch-swing and while away a lazy afternoon with this light charmer.

- Rambles
written by Tracie Vida
published 13 November 2004