A bum hip has bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn limping off to Good Cheer Hospital -- a questionable "haven of healing" where two recent patients didn't make the cut after routine surgery. Judith's trepidation at undergoing the knife is eased only by sharing a room with cousin Renie, who's in for rotator cuff repair. Though the cousins survive their surgeries, the ex-pro quarterback next door is permanently sacked after minor knee surgery. With the scoreboard showing Grim Reaper 3, post-op patients 0, Judith decides that she and Renie are obliged to get to the bottom of Good Cheer's carnage. But in order to sew up the case, Judith and Renie must probe into the suspects' psyches. And suddenly it looks as if the cousins' own prognoses could take them out of the game...for good.

A week of "mayhem-as-usual" at Hillside Manor kicks off with the arrival of a mysterious "Mr. Smith" and his floozie "Mrs." from New York City--and it accelerates into chaos when Mr. Smith himself kicks off, a victim of the foulest of plays. Hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn is shocked to learn that her now-defunct roomer was actually "Legs" Benedict--hit man for the notorious Ronzini Family--and that virtually every other guests at her B&B had good reason to want Legs broken. Judith's policeman-hubby Joe is understandably peeved that homicide happened (again!) under his own roof. And when the FBI moves in--more interested in nabbing a Nazi nutcase than a malicious mobster murderer--the local cops clear out, leaving Judith, Joe and irrepressible cousin Renie to find out who whacked the wiseguy before the hits keep coming.

There's no fun in fund-raiser for Judith McMonigle Flynn when she donates an overnight at Hillside Manor for the parish school's annual auction. Judith feels like she's already losing it when the pricey winning bid goes to a family of Paines. Dinner is included, if Judith can sort through the endless allergies and aversions of the painfully picky Paines. The last thing she needs is another bed and breakfast guest who checks out permanently. Thankfully, she's not alone. Joe Flynn is back home, his latest surveillance job ending abruptly when a supposedly paralyzed guy suspected of insurance fraud is put out of action for good by a .38 Smith and Wesson. Surely one corpse in one week is enough, even for the Flynns. Cousin Renie is trying to force-feed her Shrimp Dump recipe (running slightly ahead of her Clam Doodoo and Bean Glop) to the parish cookbook fund-raising committee, while her cantankerous mother, Gertrude, agrees to let a wealthy parishioner stable a horse in her tool shed apartment. And neighbor Arlene Rankers wants to know why some parish school kids, including her grandson, are sick after the weekly hamburger lunch. Judith figures she's got more than enough to handle until the Paines go home. But at Hillside Manor, what can possibly go right?

When innkeeper Judith McMonigle Flynn promises husband Joe never to find another dead body, she wavers when she receives a dubious B&B reservation at Hillside Manor from a Mary Smith of New York City. More than Judith's curiosity is piqued when she recognizes her new arrival as Ruby Tooms, the world-weary barmaid from Little Bavaria, checking in with an overnight bag and a cold case of murder.Ruby's strangled mother is long gone, but the killer was never caught. To compound interest for both Flynns, the unsolved case was a first for Joe's former homicide partner, Woody Price. Maybe it's time to revisit the scene of the crime.With a reluctant Cousin Renie in tow, Judith ventures into her long-forsaken old neighborhood, the site of the McMonigles' ill-fated Meat & Mingle Cafe. Traipsing from nursing home to nursery garden, from butcher shop and bus stop to beer and betting parlors, Judith and Renie track down a killer intent on seeing them come in dead last.

In this charming madcap entry in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Bed-and-Breakfast series, innkeeper and amateur sleuth Judith McMonigle Flynn's plans for a relaxing vacation go awry when she realizes her fellow guests have a different kind of getaway planned.Vacations can be murder. No one knows that better than Judith McMonigle Flynn, owner of Seattle's popular Hillside Manor B&B. After a busy summer, she desperately needs some R&R. Leave it to her thoughtful husband, Joe, to surprise her with a trip to the Canadian Rockies. Thrilled to be getting away, Judith's overjoyed when Cousin Renie and Bill agree to join them. Though the husbands have made the arrangements, how bad can a short time away in the beautiful mountains be? Judith and Renie are about to find out!While the accommodations certainly leave something to be desired, the other guests are the real prize. They've gathered on the mountainside to give a relative a proper and permanent send-off--a nice gesture, until Judith realizes that paying their respects might be a little premature . . . without some very sinister assistance. Now, it's up to her and Renie to save a would-be corpse from an early date with the undertaker.

"Daheim writes with wit, wisdom, and a big heart." -Carolyn Hart, bestselling author of the Death on Demand series The Wurst is Yet to Come: The wacky title alone tells you that you are once again in the uproarious realm of "the reigning queen of the cozies" (Portland Oregonian), the inimitable Mary Daheim! In this, the twenty-seventh glorious installment of Daheim's Bed-and-Breakfast mystery series, harried hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn and her irrepressible Cousin Renie find themselves in Little Bavaria, where the inconvenient discovery of a nonagenarian corpse threatens to put the kibosh on the local Oktoberfest. No one does cozy mystery better than the delightful Daheim-and if you're a fan of Lillian Jackson Braun, Diane Mott Davidson, or Jill Churchill, you'll definitely want to take a big bite out of this mouth-watering Wurst.

USA Today bestselling mystery maven Mary Daheim brings us another intriguing tale in her cherished Bed-and-Breakfast mystery series in which a trip down memory lane brings Judith and Renie back to their old neighbourhood, and they are drawn to a seemingly deserted house that is much more than meets the eye.

On a trip to Renie′s old neighbourhood, the cousins′ curiosity is piqued by a mysterious brick Tudor house that always looked deserted during Renie′s junior high school days. Surprised that the house still looks abandoned after all these years, Judith and Renie, of course, cannot resist an opportunity to snoop around. They discover that Mr. and Mrs. Bland have lived in the house since 1947, and after cornering the mailman and milkman, Judith and Renie also learn that the Blands receive regular mail and food deliveries, but no one has ever seen the occupants who simply pay the bills with cash they leave in the milk box. Although intrigued by these strange, but definitely not sinister, occurrences, Judith is ready to focus her attention once more on her neglected husband Joe and the busy B&B business. Until one day Judith finds a dead body in the trunk of her car. And it′s the Blands′ milkman...

Judith McMonigle Flynn has her hands full with unexpected family ties and a dead body in the backyard in this delightfully zany mystery in Mary Daheim's popular Bed-and-Breakfast series. Rodney Schmuck and his wife, Millie, Hillside Manor's latest guests, seem normal, well, except for that last name. Innkeeper Judith McMonigle Flynn is touched to hear that the fortysomething couple is in town to visit family. Rodney is especially eager to see his long-lost mother-who he insists is Judith. Shocked to meet an alleged son she's sure she never had, she can't believe Rodney when he swears he has proof from a Norway General Hospital birth certificate listing Judith Anne Grover as his mother. The father's name is Unknown. Judith has never heard of Rodney, let alone given him life. But she's got a bigger problem when one of the B&B guests turns up dead in the backyard. To Judith's surprise, Joe is willing to help investigate. He can't ignore a potential homicide that hits so close to home. But Rodney is seeking compensation for Judith's so-called abandonment of him. Perhaps she'll sign over Hillside Manor? Fat chance of that, Judith declares, and wonders what kind of scheme Rodney has on his devious mind. For that matter, she also wonders why the rest of the guests in his party are acting so strangely. With Joe hot on the killer's trail, Cousin Renie is persuaded to help Judith discover the truth about the Schmucks and their mysterious hangers-on. If they don't act fast, Hillside Manor could end up as Schmucks' Gold Mine.

This fall, Judith McMonigle Flynn can barely cope with her gaggle of guests at Hillside Manor B&B. And when diminutive daredevil and martial-arts movie icon Wee Willie Weevil insists on performing his dangerous stunts from Judith's roof--and ends up leaving the B&B via ambulance--the harried hostess decides it's high time to escape the domestic mayhem, joining irrepressible cousin Renie on a cross-country train trip with first-class accommodations to Boston on the Empire Builder.

Unfortunately, a wheelchair-bound Wee Willie and his entourage are also on board, effectively derailing their vacation. And when the train collides with a truckload of sugar beets, stranding the cousins in Middle-of -Nowhere, Montana, they soon have two murders on their hands. A fellow traveler and a crew member have reached their final destinations prematurely--and unless Judith and Renie can blow the whistle on a killer, they themselves may end up being railroaded to the boneyard

From Grouch to Grinch...to Ghost

Hillside Manor's neighbors all adored proprietor Judith McMonigle Flynn's festive suggestion to deck the halls and houses in their cul-de-sac with eye-catching Christmas finery -- except Enid Goodrich.  The grumpy old humbug refused to cooperate.  Then someone cooked her Christmas goose -- silencing Enid's objections with a handy hatchet.  Though Judith's already got a lot under her tree -- what with holidy business booming and the anticipated unwanted arrival of hubby Joe's soused ex-spouse -- she's not about to let murder mess up what's left of her seasonal spirit.  With the help of irrepressible cousin Renie, Judith's determined to wrap up this case for Christmas -- and expose the Scrooge-slayer who felt strongly that the only Goodrich is a Deadrich.

In Gone with the Win, another charming entry in Mary Daheim's beloved Bed-and-Breakfast series, someone from Judith McMonigle Flynn's past comes knocking, and the reluctant amateur sleuth finds herself working a case so cold it's practically frozen. Ruby Tooms drops her bags and a mystery on the lovely Persian carpet of Hillside Manor, Judith's bed-and-breakfast in Seattle. Ruby's mother was strangled years before, soon after her divorce from Ruby's father--and the killer is still at large. Undaunted, Judith agrees to help Ruby. Cousin Renie grudgingly pitches in, and even Judith's husband, Joe, gets involved. The game's afoot and ahoof with Judith discovering that the hand she's been dealt includes not only a joker but that deadly card, the Ace of Spades. And, she's off...in pursuit of a killer.

Hillside Manor is the perfect B&B for a few days of R&R. Okay, so it features the occasional corpse or two. But is a small (if growing) body count any reason for the state to yank Judith McMonigle Flynn's innkeeper's license?

Exhausted from being hassled by the state B&B association's meddling critics, Judith warily accepts an assignment manning an Oktoberfest booth in the mountain aerie of Little Bavaria. With reluctant cousin Renie in tow, she hopes to win some allies, solicit new guests, and keep her inn prosperous. The last thing she needs is another homicide to sully her reputation.

But before the beer begins flowing, Judith finds a body--right in the middle of an oompah band and a herd of German polka dancers. Before she can say lederhosen, the local police chief has her on the case.

Caught between a wurst and a hard place, Judith finally agrees, but only if Renie poses as the sleuth. . . .

There's no "fun" in "fund-raiser" for Judith McMonigle Flynn when she donates an overnight stay at Hillside Manor for the parish school's annual auction and the winning bid goes to the persnickety Paine family. Then her husband Joe's latest surveillance job ends abruptly when an insurance fraud suspect is blown away. Unfortunately the gun belongs to Joe, who finds himself in a jail cell while Judith tries to find what's left of her mind--and the real killer.

But Joe's dilemma and the unbearable Paines aren't Judith's only problems. Her cantankerous mother, Gertrude, has agreed to let a wealthy parishioner stable a horse in her tool-shed apartment; Cousin Renie is trying to force-feed her loathsome Shrimp Dump recipe to the parish cookbook fund-raising committee; and neighbor Arlene Rankers wants to know why some parish school kids, including her grandson, are sick after the weekly hamburger lunch. What else could possibly go wrong? On the other hand, at Hillside Manor, what can possibly "go right?"

From USA Today bestselling author Mary Daheim comes her latest Bed-and-Breakfast book featuring innkeeper Judith McMonigle Flynn and her irrepressible cousin Renie in a mystery that takes them on the wrong side of the tracks. . . . Loco Motive

It's autumn at Hillside Manor B&B, and with the changing leaves come some unexpected guests. There's Judith's son and daughter-in-law, with their two children in tow, a couple with an impossible (and unbelievable?) last name who show up from nowhere, and a pair of giggly young women who don't seem to know where they're going.

As Halloween draws nigh, Judith can barely cope with her gala of guests, but at least the worst guest from the first part of the week checks out--almost permanently. Wee Willie Weevil, infamous daredevil and martial-arts movie icon, insisted on performing his dangerous stunts from Judith's roof and left the B&B via an ambulance.

Hoping to escape the domestic mayhem, Judith agrees to accompany Renie on a cross-country train trip to Boston with first-class accommodations on the Empire Builder. Judith's bubble bursts when she discovers that Wee Willie and his entourage are fellow travelers. Although confined to a wheelchair, the diminutive stunt man seems capable of derailing the cousins' vacation.

Cousin Renie does her best to ease Judith's mind until the train collides with a truckload of sugar beets. Forced to wait for a new engine in a small Montana town in the middle of nowhere, the passengers can do nothing but watch and wait. Even before the train can get back on track, the cousins discover that their sleeper attendant has gone missing. Worse yet, another passenger's final destination is the nearest morgue.

Judith and Renie have to move full speed ahead if they want to blow the whistle on the killer before death strikes again. Can the train continue its journey? Will the cousins ever get to Boston? Stay aboard

Innkeeper and irrepressible sleuth Judith McMonigle Flynn and cousin Renie face off against a cold-blooded killer in a beach community in this delightfully charming Bed-and-Breakfast mystery from USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Mary Daheim. With the holidays gone and Hillside Manor almost empty, Innkeeper Judith McMonigle Flynn has a bad case of the blues. A housesitting stint at her aunt and uncle's retirement home on Whoopee Island with cousin Renie seems like the ideal pick-me-up. Surrounded by retirees in the off-season sounds peaceful and pleasant--or so the duo thinks. But it isn't long before a dead body pops up in their vicinity. Not surprising in an area full of older folks-until they learn it wasn't a bad ticker that did in the victim, but a very sharp knife. With clouds of suspicion hovering over her and Renie, Judith reluctantly begins sleuthing-if only to prove they didn't commit the crime. But what she finds is puzzling. The victim reputedly didn't have an enemy in the world--except for the killer. Digging for clams and answers, the cousins discover that retirement can be deadly-at least among the eclectic, eccentric residents of Obsession Shores.

Tucked away in a cozy cul-de-sac on Heraldsgate Hill, Judith McMonigle Flynn hopes for smooth sailing in her longtime role as an innkeeper. But Judith's skill in dealing with guests is matched only by her knack for coming across corpses.

Mystery lovers who enjoy madcap mayhem will have no reservations about returning to Hillside Manor in the twenty-fourth Bed-and-Breakfast book from "USA Today" bestselling author Mary Daheim.

Judith's worst nightmare comes true when Vivian Flynn--husband Joe's first wife--moves back into the neighborhood, bringing along her newest spouse, Billy "Blunder" Buss, a former minor-league baseball player who is many years younger than his shop-worn bride. Still, the B&B business is going well and the newlyweds don't seem to be causing problems for the Flynns. That seemingly calm summer idyll is broken when Vivian, who has become mysteriously wealthy, announces plans to tear down her own house and the recently vacated bungalow next door so she can build a big, bad condo. Judith, along with the rest of the neighbors in the cul-de-sac, is up in arms, vowing to fight the project to the death.

Vivian's past catches up with her when Frankie Buss comes to town. Billy and Frankie's late father, elderly Oklahoma rancher Potsy Buss, was married to Vivian for nine months before dying and bequeathing her his vast wealth. Frankie Buss intends to stir the pot of gold that Potsy left his widow, and he's trying to cut a deal with Vivian and her most recent mate, Billy. Naturally, where else would Frankie and his wife, Marva Lou, stay but at Hillside Manor?

And naturally, somebody checks out . . . permanently. The "somebody" isn't a Buss family member, andturns out to be a "nobody" because the body can't be identified. To save the B&B as well as her sanity, Judith must figure out not only who did it, but who it was who was found dead in Vivian's backyard.

THE EDITOR OF THE ALPINE ADVOCATE GOES DIGGING FOR A MURDERER.
At forty-two, newspaperwoman Emma Lord decides she needs time off to do
some soul-searching. But her old Jag breaks down in the picturesque Pacific
Northwest town of Port Angeles, and instead of finding herself, she ,s helping
friends find the truth about a grisly discovery: a skeleton in their basement.
The bones belong to those of an unknown young woman, buried in a
crumbling mansion nearly a century ago. A crushed skull, a garnet earring, a
locket containing a telltale keepsake *all whisper of tragedy. Ancient
photographs reveal more. But Emma has to fish in dark and dangerous
waters to get the whole story of a wealthy, ruthless family, a story that
twists and turns to a shocking conclusion that should never be told....

Innkeeper and amateur sleuth Judith McMonigle Flynn's worst nightmare comes true when Vivian Flynn--husband Joe's first wife--moves back into the neighborhood. Vivian, who has become mysteriously wealthy, plans to build a big, bad condoon their idyllic cul-de-sac. Outraged, Judith and her neighbors vow to fight the project to the death.

Vivian isn't the only newcomer to the area. Frankie Buss, son of another of Vivian's ex-husbands, has arrived at Hillside Manor with his wife. Vivian was married to his father for what seemed like minutes before she inherited his vast wealth--and ran off with his other son. Now Frankie's dying for his share of the pot of gold.

Vivian's got more than one mortal enemy--but which one ended up dead in her back yard? If she wants her home sweet home to stay happy, Judith will have to find out.

ALL THE MURDER FIT TO PRINT                      

Editor-publisher Emma Lord and her Alpine Advocate staff suspect excitement when glamorous Ursula O'Toole Randall returns to Alpine to marry her third husband. But hers is a lethal homecoming. . . .

Ursula, clad in satin pajamas, is found dead in the shallow waters of the Skyhomish River. Sheriff Dodge suspects foul play. Yet as Emma hunts for a stop-press story, a snake-in-the-grass killer, unappeased by one murder, slithers unnoticed through the shadows. . . .

At the Alpine Advocate, editor Emma Lord and her staff are on deadline with a feature about the opening of RestHaven, a new rehab and mental health facility. Front Street is buzzing with gossip about Emma's recent engagement to Sheriff Milo Dodge. Wayne Eriks has climbed an electric pole in the middle of a storm and got himself electrocuted. Sheriff Dodge doesn't buy the idea that Wayne's death is an accident. Why he died is only one of the conundrums that keep the sheriff and Emma working overtime. Why is RestHaven giving Alpine so many restless nights? What to make of allegations that someone's trying to kill the richest man in town? Or whispers of a rash of indecent behavior at the local high school?

Nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, the charming hamlet of Alpine is preparing for Thanksgiving, while Emma Lord, editor and publisher of "The Alpine Advocate, " feels her spirits sink. There will be no family or friends to share the day, but a call from Sheriff Milo Dodge on the Monday after the holiday weekend leaves her no time to wallow. Three alarming letters, sent to the sheriff from an anonymous writer, assert that the murder conviction of Alpine resident Larry Petersen ten years earlier was the result of a wrongful arrest. Adding to the miscarriage of justice, Petersen recently died behind bars. Then a fourth letter arrives, threatening retribution in the form of another death--most likely Emma's or Milo's. Mary Daheim's new Emma Lord novel is a rich and authentic blend of small-town life and chilling menace.

USA Today bestselling author Mary Daheim knows how to spin a mystery with a tight plot and captivatingly eccentric characters. And her vivid Pacific Northwest setting-a character in itself-has garnered her a plethora of devoted fans. Now her resourceful and resolute journalist Emma Lord is back with a new mystery to solve-and an even tougher deadline to meet.
Members of the Burl Creek Thimble Club, a quilting circle in small-town Alpine, Washington, are planning a fete to welcome back Genevieve Bayard, who left the group, and Alpine, decades ago. But Gen's homecoming is cut decidedly short when she dies at a dinner party. Emma Lord, owner and publisher of the local newspaper, The Alpine Advocate, immediately arrives on the scene to report the incident and sleuth her way to the truth.
Though it appears that Gen wasn't adored by everyone in the Alpine community, her untimely death still comes as a shock. To help solve the mystery, Emma turns to Vida Runkel, the Advocate's trusty House & Home editor. Such a notorious story would normally have Vida chomping at the bit, but to Emma's surprise Vida is hesitant, even downright unwilling to get involved.
The demise of Genevieve Bayard, however, isn't the only crime in Alpine. There has been a rash of burglaries, including at Emma's own cozy log cabin. Are the break-ins and the murder connected? As Emma digs, she uncovers a shocking scandal that may point the finger of guilt at one of her nearest and dearest . . . while single-handedly changing the history of Alpine itself.

"From the Hardcover edition."