Jeff and three of his buddies are headed to a weekend retreat for three days of fishing and "guy time." Jeff enjoys these weekends, but is reluctant to leave his agoraphobic wife Sheila at home. Sheila hasn't left the house in over five years, but has plenty to keep her busy at home, from her Internet friends to "shopping" at the antique store Jeff set up for her, to creating gourmet recipes. The last stop Jeff's group makes before heading into the woods is at Bill's bait shop, where Jeff finds Bill dead, most likely attacked by someone with one of his own fishing antiques.

Intrigued by the role the fishing memorabilia may have played in Bill's murder, Jeff offers his help to plucky Sheriff Colleen McIvers, a cancer survivor with a very strong will and a lot of local insight. Together the two line up several suspects worth investigating, but Jeff's real involvement in the case begins when he returns from his trip and discovers that Sheila has been kidnapped.

The Weedless Widow is a very comfortable second mystery that flows and meanders along much like the river the men are fishing in, but the investigation lacks focus much of the time. Jeff stumbles upon the widow's motive and Bill's local mistress reveals herself at the funeral, a small town secret that apparently remained such, but these are more serendipitous than a result of good detective work. There are subtle clues that will lead to the final solution, but they may be hard to recognize. A subplot involving an accident and the loss of some newly acquired antiques seems to be an afterthought and is not well incorporated into the plot.

Sherrif McIvers is the most interesting character and the most well developed. Some attempts are made with one of Jeff's fishing buddies, Sam Carver, but the other characters populate the landscape. There is a lot of fishing lore and antique information deftly woven into the plot and those looking for a light mystery with an interesting context will be pleased. Overall, The Weedless Widow is a fast, enjoyable cozy.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry