The renovations come to an abrupt halt when Alex is arrested for the murder of a local woman, Vickie Monroe, outside of a local bar. Alex does not remember anything about that evening after he left the bar, but tells Jim and Annie how he would meet Vickie at Swallows every Tuesday night, but when things began to take a serious turn, Vickie would back away. Alex asks Annie, who has accepted her role in life as a sometimes amateur detective, to investigate.  

Annie agrees and manages to insinuate herself into the Alexandria, Virginia enclave where Vickie lived and finds herself in a Stepford-esque environment with perfect homes, yards, wives, children and husbands, or so it appears. The women quickly accept Annie as their new neighbor, though no one really checks out the story and quickly take Annie into their inner circle. 

As Annie begins to learn more about their seemingly perfect lives, she notices inconsistencies and begins to think a murderer may be among them. When a second wife is found dead, Annie is more convinced she is on the right track, but what she uncovers is even more unbelievable than she had originally thought.  

Over the course of the series, Annie has gone from cooking school student to manager of a gourmet store to the business manager of Bellywasher’s and has never managed to improve her cooking skills. She is a solid, loving partner for Jim and has developed into a respectable private eye. Long time readers of the series will miss Annie’s one time boss, the ex-con owner of Tres Bonne Cuisine, Norman Applebaum, but Eve continues to be a delightful foil to Annie’s more sensible nature.  

The mystery is well-plotted and though the answer seems obvious, there is a surprise twist to the plot. There is a happily-ever-ending for Annie and Jim, of course, though the last sentence of the book may lead readers to believe this is the end of the road for Annie as a private eye.                                        

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry