In her fifth cozy featuring Missouri genealogist Torie O'Shea (after 2000's A Misty Mourning), MacPherson paints a vivid portrait of a town and a family with a secret. Given her history of conflict with New Kassel sheriff Colin Brooke, Torie is dismayed when Colin marries her wheelchair-bound mom. Still, Torie agrees to inventory the contents of famous jazz singer Catherine Finch's estate, purchased by Colin, who intends to make a mint in his antique business. Enter Sylvia Pershing, the town matriarch, historical society head and Torie's employer. What better way to kill two birds with one stone than to do biographical research on Finch while already sorting through her things on Colin's behalf? The sheriff's honeymoon is barely started when a dead man turns up in the old Yates house, scheduled for razing. Later, a demolition crew finds an infant's skeleton hidden inside a wall. Were the two deaths related? And were both victims somehow connected to Finch and the 60-year-old tragedy that changed the singer's life forever? Torie believes six cousins, including one who's now the governor, knew the answers all along. But how many of them would be willing to kill to keep things quiet? Thanks to an amazingly compliant if shadowy husband, Torie manages to balance sleuthing with the demands of a newborn baby and two other youngsters. With her characteristic blend of wit and sarcasm, MacPherson has delivered another winning whodunit. Agent, Michele Rubin. (Mar. 18)
