WREATHING HAVOC

The murder rate continues to rise in historic Goosebush, Massachusetts.

Lilly Jayne shares her lovely Victorian home with researcher Delia Greenway and, at the moment, a few other friends who need temporary quarters. All are mourning the loss of Leon Tompkin, who was deeply involved in the Goosebush Players as both an actor and a financial backer. His sudden death has exposed a number of cracks in the relationships among competing theater groups, and his son, Fred, who lives in California, has asked the organized and knowledgeable Lilly to help settle his estate, which includes masses of disorganized paperwork generated by Leon’s constant second thoughts about bequests. Movie stars Jeremy Nolan and Annabelle Keys, former spouses who started their careers in Goosebush, agree to do readings for a special production honoring Leon. Police Chief Bash Haywood, who’s counted on Lilly and her Garden Squad friends in the past, is a bit suspicious of Leon’s supposed heart attack, and his suspicions harden into certainty when Jeremy drops dead while eating a mini cupcake at a post-play party. The state police take over the high-profile case but ignore the many leads unearthed by Lilly’s work on the estate’s problems. Because the answer to the mystery seems to lie in the past, Delia’s skills searching through papers and archives are especially welcome.

The complex past and argumentative present take a back seat to the delightful members of the sleuthing Garden Squad.