Which is how she finds herself in Doc Melvin Dawkins’s backyard, him face down in the hot tub, his young, widowed wife insisting that the authorities don’t need to be called, she is quite certain her husband is dead. To be on the safe side, Callie does call the authorities who begin investigating Doc’s death as an unattended death. 

In the meantime, Callie’s best friend Jane (who is blind) is about to be evicted from her apartment because landlord Pearl has fallen head over heels in love with a new man in town and plans to sell all her property, move to Florida, marry George, and live happily ever after. 

Dorcas Lucas, the realtor who is handling the sale, has been harassing Jane and is found dead at the bottom of the stairs. At first Callie fears Jane may have pushed Dorcas accidentally, but when the cops report that Dorcas’s head has been bashed in, Callie and the police are certain Jane couldn’t have committed the crime.  

Callie is also about to have a birthday, something her father never mentions to her because Callie’s birth caused her mother’s death and the day has been painful for her father ever since. A surprise party brings together an odd assortment of people (the radio announcement announcing the change in venue brought out more people than expected) that all have an effect, one way or another, on bringing Dorcas’s murderer to justice, keeping Pearl out of trouble, and eventually saving Callie’s life from a deadly stalker.  

While there seems to be a head spinning amount of plot going on, it is all handled deftly and easily, parts connecting eventually not getting too silly or out of control, maintaining a high level of interest as to what is going to happen next and how all the pieces are going to fit together. 

This is Callie’s third mystery and the best one in the series. Callie is an endearing, intrepid heroine who has grown into a wonderful character. Jane is a very interesting sidekick and provides a great foil to Callie, though there is definitely more to learn about her in the future. All the strands of the mysteries eventually come together in very interesting ways. Fran Rizer, through Callie Parish and company, makes the business of funerals something to laugh about, without being irreverent to the deceased and their families.                                                    

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry