Everyone in Sawrey likes Ben Hornby. So when Beatrix finds the shepherd dead in the meadow and suspects foul play, she wonders who would have done such a thing. A trio of village cats has an idea: When Ben breathed his last, his sheep must have seen his killer before scattering. So they set out to find the far-flung flock. Although she’s distracted by duties at the farm and the sad plight of a young girl, Beatrix must get to the bottom of this....

"It's Christmas, 1934, and the citizens of Darling, Alabama, are unwrapping a big package of Christmas puzzles. Mildred Kilgore and Earlynne Biddle are planning to open a bakery on the square--if they can come up with the right recipes. Charlie Dickens faces two of the biggest puzzles of his career as an investigative reporter, and one of them involves his wife. Cute little Cupcake's talent as a singer and dancer makes her a tempting target for an...

It looks like the music has ended for Darling's favorite barbershop quartet, the Lucky Four Clovers - just days before the Dixie Regional Barbershop Competition. Another unlucky break: a serious foul-up in Darling's telephone system - and not a penny for repairs. And while liquor is legal again, moonshine isn't. Sheriff Buddy Norris needs a little luck when he goes into Briar Swamp to confront Cypress County's most notorious bootlegger. What he finds...

"In 1940, art-world icon Georgia O'Keeffe bought a house in a mountain-rimmed New Mexico desert, planning to live there for six months every year. To manage her remote household while she paints, O'Keeffe invited Maria Chabot-a young and na̐ve would-be writer-to join her. Their tempestuous relationship endured throughout the chaotic years of WW2; the death of Georgia's domineering, philandering husband (famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz); and...

The Depression-era women of a Darling, Alabama, garden club get to the bottom of a mysterious buried treasure and a young woman's murder.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 284-289).

When AP political reporter Lorena Hickok is assigned to cover Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of 1932 Democratic candidate FDR, the women become deeply, intimately involved.