Donna Andrews

The latest installment in the Chesapeake Crimes mystery series focuses on working stiffs–literally! Included in this collection are new tales by: Shari Randall, C. Ellett Logan, Karen Cantwell, E. B. Davis, Jill Breslau, David Autry, Harriette Sackler, Barb Goffman, Ellen Herbert, Smita Harish Jain, Leone Ciporin, Cathy Wiley, Donna Andrews, Art Taylor. Foreword by Elaine Viets.

The seventh volume in the Chesapeake Crimes series presents an impressive set of tales by new and wellestablished authors. Included this time are:<P> INTRODUCTION, by Dana Cameron<BR> THE DAME AND THADDEUS BIRDWHISTLE, by Karen Cantwell<BR> SECRETS TO THE GRAVE, by K.M. Rockwood<BR> THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT THE ESCAPE ROOM, by Leone Ciporin<BR> THE DOGOODER, by Adam Meyer<BR> THE PROBLEM WITH OPENENDED INVITATIONS, by Cathy Wiley<BR> MUGGINS, by...

It&apos;s a few days before Christmas, and Meg&apos;s grandfather is hosting a scientific conference on owls at the Caerphilly Inn. Most of the family are there, helping out in one capacity or another, including Meg&apos;s grandmother, Cordelia-invited by Grandfather in a rare gesture of peace-making, to share her expertise on rehabilitating large birds, including owls. An unexpectedly severe snow storm traps the conference-goers in the hotel, and one of the visiting ornithologists is murdered....

Meg&apos;s grandfather has been booked to give lectures on a cruise as part of the education/entertainment itinerary, and he&apos;s arranged for a passel of family members to join him. The passengers&apos; vacation quickly becomes a nightmare when they wake up to find themselves broken down and in need of repairs. Things get even worse when a crew member announces to all that a woman has jumped overboard, leaving behind her shoes, shawl, and a note. The note reveals she&apos;s a disliked member...

Meg Langslow&apos;s summer is not going swimmingly. In her small Virginia hometown, she&apos;s the maid of honor at the nuptials of three loved ones – each of whom has dumped the planning in her hands. One bride is set on including a Native American herbal purification ceremony while another wants live peacocks on the lawn. Only help from the town&apos;s drop-dead gorgeous hunk keeps Meg afloat in a sea of relatives and outrageous neighbors. But when an offensive newcomer who hints at skeletons...

During an early-morning feeding for her four-month-old twins, Meg Langslow hears an odd noise and goes downstairs to find her living room filled with dozens of animals-cats, dogs, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, guinea pigs, and a stunningly foul-mouthed macaw. She soon learns that financial woes have caused the local animal shelter to repeal its no-kill policy. Her kind-hearted father, her zoologist grandfather, and other like-minded citizens have stolen all the shelter animals, both as a gesture...

Meg Langslow and Michael&apos;s house is serving as the marshalling point for the annual Caerphilly holiday parade. The theme is The Twelve Days of Christmas, and it features twelve drummers from the school&apos;s marching band, eleven bagpipers, ten leaping lords costumed in medieval finery from the college&apos;s drama department, and so on. There are also assorted floats, a live nativity scene on a flatbed truck, the three wise men on Caerphilly Zoo camels, and Santa in a bright-red...

Meg Langslow&apos;s eccentric parents have a new hobby: growing roses and entering them in highly competitive shows. Dad&apos;s gardening skill and Mother&apos;s gift for selecting and arranging the blossoms should make them an unbeatable team?and Meg is relieved they&apos;ve taken up such a safe, gentle hobby. She even volunteers to help when the Caerphilly Garden Club sponsors its first annual rose show. But after a few hours of dealing with her parents&apos; competitors, Meg sees trouble…...

Meg Langslow is pregnant with twins when Michael asks if she wouldn&apos;t mind having a houseguest. One of his doctoral students is directing his new translation of a play by a minor Spanish playwright, who has agreed to come to town for the production. Surely they can spare some room for such an important academic cause? Senor Mendoza turns out to be a partygoer who loves to spend raucous evenings among adoring students…at Casa Langslow. Into this chaos arrives the dean of the English...