Part of Meg Langslow, book 37
First published 2025
Meg Langslow escapes to her brother Rob's new house to avoid the chaos of Caerphilly's first Mutt March preparations at her own home. She watches workmen use a bulldozer to excavate a duck pond in Rob and Delaney's backyard, hoping for some peace with their new baby nearby. The tranquil afternoon shatters when the bulldozer blade strikes bone. The workers have unearthed a skeleton with a bullet hole in the skull and the projectile still rattling inside. Chief Burke starts combing through missing persons files while Meg volunteers to help identify the victim through library research and interviews with longtime residents. The investigation takes an urgent turn when Iris Rafferty, who sold the house to Rob and Delaney and still occupies the mother-in-law suite, vanishes the morning after the discovery. Meg wonders if Iris fled voluntarily or if someone took her. Night prowlers spotted near the unfinished pond add another layer of menace. The stakes rise as the Mutt March approaches and Meg realizes the lurkers might target the parade dogs or hide darker motives connected to the buried corpse.
Genres: suspense, mystery, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth
Vibes: cozy, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-detective, found-family
Setting: Caerphilly
320 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books