Do you believe in magic, miracles and guardian angels? If so, you'll enjoy Ballard's third cozy (Angel at Troublesome Creek; An Angel to Die For) to feature ethereal Augusta Goodnight. Angel Augusta fills in as a "temp" guardian for young widow Arminda Hobbs, who finds her cousin Otto dead in a ladies' room stall at the local museum, once the home of the Minerva Academy girls' school. Childish mysticism, an overly complex plot and a cast of characters so large it requires a list at the front may put off some readers, but those willing to suspend disbelief will be engrossed by Minda's efforts to track down Otto's killer now that she's returned to her sleepy hometown of Angel Heights, S.C. Our heroine learns of the Mystic Six, a secret society formed decades ago by six young women at Minerva Academy—and of a duplicitous teacher who liked to do more to his pretty students than instruct them in their schoolwork. Minda lays her life on the line several times to find and interpret a quilt (incorporated into the primitively charming if somewhat frenetic jacket design) that the Mystic Six made and uneasily passed around to one another after graduation. Fortunately, her guardian angel is on hand to guide and protect her. By the end Augusta Goodnight fans are sure to have built up an appetite for the next book in the series, just as Minda develops a taste for her angel's homemade muffins. (June 10)
