Abby does not, however, choose the best venue to collect signatures, doing it at a home and garden show sponsored by Uniworld.  Abby and niece Tara are ejected from the venue, but Abby vows to continue her protest, even after a brick is thrown thorough her store’s window and her shop is ransacked. 

Abby is convinced that Uniword exec Nils Raand is behind these incidents, but when her roommate is followed by a van while driving Abby’s distinctive bright yellow Corvette, her cousin Jill is kidnapped and her niece is kidnapped from a concert, both dressing like Abby, hottie boyfriend Marco thinks there may be a little more to the grudge against Abby than protesting growth hormones for cows.  Abby doesn’t like backing down from a fight, but with friends and family in danger, she begins to rethink her position, but when the threats don’t stop, she begins to agree with Marco, at least on this count.

 Sleeping with Anemone is full of interesting characters who readers have grown to know and love over the series.  With the addition of teenage Tara into this plot, there is yet another dimension added, as Tara joins Abby and Marco’s other relatives in cheering the couple on to get engaged. 

The plot has some dark scenes - Tara’s kidnapping, for instance, but these situations are quickly resolved, only to make Abby firmer in her resolve to make Uniworld and Nils Raand pay.  Readers may suspect early on what the motive for the attacks on Abby may really be, but there are several plausible scenarios, many of which neatly interlink, making this mystery not quite so easy to solve.  There are also connections to Abby’s previous mystery solving, neatly tying earlier plots in with this one. 

The final confrontation ties in Abby’s mother’s crazy inventions and creations in an interesting way and gives her retired policeman, now wheelchair bound, father a chance to save the day once again.  A cleverly plotted mystery with a familiar cast of characters, Sleeping with Anemone will have longtime fans hoping that the next mystery to feature this dynamic duo involves a bridal registry.                                                                   

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry