All the Pretty Hearses

June 20, 2011
Judith McMonigle Flynn, the owner of Seattle's Hillside Manor B&B, casually juggles a slew of strange guests, a homicide investigation, and complicated personal relations in Daheim's 26th bed-and-breakfast cozy (after 2010's Loco Motive). When a crook whom Judith's PI husband, Joe Flynn, has been staking out is shot dead, Joe becomes a murder suspect. Meanwhile, a horde of Paines, children and grandchildren of Norma and Wilbur Paine, descend on the B&B for a contentious stay. Wealthy and obnoxious Alicia and Reggie Beard-Smythe also impose. Guests bring unusual complications: a horse in Judith's garage; a wolfhound in her bathtub; and two guests with the same name and both possibly fakes. Familiar characters such as Flynn's disabled, irascible mother, Gertrude Grover, and spirited cousin Renie Jones hinder and help and keep the plot roiling. Series fans will cheer as Judith sorts everything out with her usual combination of humor and exasperation.