Elvis and the Memphis Mambo Murders

In Webb's wacky third Southern Cousins mystery (after 2009's Elvis and the Grateful Dead), beautician Callie Valentine Jones swings into sleuth mode with her sidekick, cousin Lovie, after a participant in a dance contest, Babs Mabry Mims, takes a fatal fall over a concrete parapet at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn. Next, Callie discovers another contestant, Gloria Divine, drowned in the hotel's fountain, and shortly afterward someone attacks Ruby Nell in her room. Callie worries that her mother's dance partner, Thomas Whitenton, who's acting mighty suspiciously, could be the killer. Complicating matters is the resurfacing of Jack Jones, Callie's estranged husband. While Jack's protective instincts are helpful, Callie hates how his mysterious job as an "international consultant" interferes with their marriage. Elvis, the detecting basset hound, continues to be the saving grace of this sometimes cute, sometimes corny cozy series. (Oct.)