At the start of Doss’s entertaining 13th mystery to feature Ute investigator Charlie Moon (after 2007’s Three Sisters
), the spirit of recently murdered Chiquita Yazzi expresses concern for her teenage daughter, Nancy, as well she should, since Nancy was left alone with an abusive stepfather, Hermann Wetzel, who’s about to meet the same fate as Chiquita. While Charlie prepares to pop the question to his favorite FBI agent, Lila Mae McTeague, he’s also putting together a 16th birthday party for his Aunt Daisy’s charge, orphan Sarah Frank. Hermann’s murder disrupts the party and brings Nancy to Charlie’s ranch, where she absconds with Sarah’s birthday gift and goes on a rampage of vengeance. The police chief of Granite Creek, Colo., and fellow officers search high and low to apprehend Hermann’s killer, but it’s Daisy and Hermann’s elderly landlady who team up to bring about the multifaceted solution. Lots of asides and tongue-in-cheek humor add to the fun. (Nov.)
