To keep her mind off of dead bodies, Megan and Ryan participate in a mystery reading group that is currently reading Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders. After the discussion one evening, Megan stumbles across the body of a local wino in the alley. The police are suspicious of Megan, especially when she points out the odd characters inscribed in the dead man’s head. Megan insists that the murder is ritualistic and perhaps the work of a serial killer. The police begin to agree with her when a short while later Megan stumbles upon the body of a book club member’s husband. Only trouble is, this makes the police even more suspicious of Megan.

Megan doesn’t have as much time to insinuate herself into these murders as she would like because the drought in Texas has caused a local lake to give up one of its secrets - an old Ford, sunk since about 1938. Later that week, a dead body, from about the same period, is found in a Laundromat near the bookstore. Now Megan can’t decide which mystery to devote her time to, though the older mystery has a lot of connections to her current day book group and she can’t resist a history mystery.

Megan is one of those characters you really want to like, but just can’t quite get a good feeling about. She is very likable, but many times too much of a know-it-all and her life experience seems like a lot for someone her age. Ryan, on the other hand, through the course of the series has grown into a very likable character, one who often gets caught in Megan’s “projects” when he would rather be cuddling with Megan on the couch with some hot chocolate.

While both mysteries are interesting, they each could have stood alone. Megan focuses more on the historical mystery and the current murders aren’t really necessary to hold the plot together. The connections drawn between 1930’s Sixth Street and modern day Sixth Street are clever and interesting and will keep the reader guessing. Megan and Ryan are making tentative steps toward each other and a relationship with an older, more staid man, may be just the thing to make her come more into focus.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry