MacRae's witty first of a new cozy series introduces bookstore owner Margaret Welch, who looks into the disturbing events—starting with poisoned pigeons and escalating to arson and murder—plaguing peaceful Stonewall, Tenn. When Margaret's elderly cousin and next-door neighbor, Leona, takes a shine to Gene Mashburn, the handsome new stranger in the Appalachian town, Margaret finds herself agreeing with Leona's good taste, in spite of her own reservations. On the other hand, Margaret's hangdog former beau, police sergeant George Buckles, and her proper sister, Bitsy, find Mashburn's arrival and the local calamities too closely related. That Mashburn was one of the partners of the murder victim, developer Doug "Duckie" Everett, in the plan to transform an old school into condos further fuels Bitsy and George's suspicions. MacRae (Wilder Rumors) keeps the reader guessing right up to Margaret's life-or-death struggle with the culprit. (Dec.)