Murder visits Seattle's Hillside Manor B&B yet again in the busy 22nd entry in Daheim's popular cozy series (after 2005's Dead Man Docking
). Judith McMonigle Flynn and her neighbors are exasperated with the noise violinist Rudi Wittener makes at all hours, but Judith thaws slightly when Rudi wants her to host a party for his visiting mentor, Dolph Kluger. When Kluger's poisoned to death while a guest at Hillside, suspects include Rudi; Rudi's son, Fritz; Rudi's ex-wife, Elsa; and a man claiming to be Kluger's illegitimate son. As if murder weren't enough, cousin Renie's credit cards disappear, as does Rudi's violin bow, valued at $350,000. With a plot crowded with characters new and old, numerous questions of paternity and frequent humorous references to the homicide rate at Hillside Manor, this will no doubt please longtime fans, but new readers may be more irritated than amused. (Aug.)
