Murder in a Basket: An India Hayes Mystery

In Flower’s delightful, clean-as-a-whistle second India Hayes mystery (after 2010’s Maid of Murder), India, the librarian at Ohio’s Martin College, intends to retrieve the items she left in her face-painting booth at the founders’ festival, but discovers more than she bargained for: the dead body of Tess Lepcheck, a bead crafter and the recent recipient of a dog with a $2 million trust fund. Worse still, the victim is the mother of Derek, a student smitten with India, and the sister of India’s boss, crusty college provost Sam Lepcheck. Derek and Sam urge India to go look for Tess’s killer. India and her spry elderly landlady find the next murder victim—along with a surprising suspect still with the body. But is the real killer still at large? The satisfying conclusion will leave cozy fans eager for India’s next adventure. Agent: Tekno Books. (Jan.)