Murder in a Basket (Five Star Mystery Series)
At the insistence of her sister, college librarian India Hayes reluctantly staffs the face-painting booth at the Stripling Founders’ Festival. India also hopes to sell a few of her paintings at the fair. Unfortunately, she finds Tess, who was staffing the booth next to India’s, dead when she returns at night to retrieve her forgotten paintings. Tess’ teenaged son, who has a crush on India, begs her to find his mother’s killer. Was Tess killed because she was the guardian of Zach, a labradoodle whose owner left two-million dollars for his care, and greedy relatives want a share of the fortune? Or was the killer Tess’ husband or a member of the artists’ co-op she helped found? India, along with her elderly neighbor, Ina, talks to suspects and eventually solves the crime. Complicating matters, India’s aging hippie parents are waging war against the school board to save a bell tower. Fans of Donna Andrews’ humorous Meg Langslow mysteries will enjoy India and her quirky extended family. --Sue OBrien