Hush My Mouth by Cathy Pickens (2008, Hardcover)

What's not to love about a mystery that contains not just one but TWO eBay references?

First, the heroine declares her intention not to have her law office turn into "a tourist photo op" like "the Virgin Mary in a Piece of Toast Museum"; then the Deputy Sheriff points to his impound's security as being a safer place to stash crime-involved vehicles than the patrol garage because "some'a those numbnuts'd have the thing stripped and selling pieces on eBay."

I always wondered where people got all those car parts they're selling on eBay Motors, didn't you?

Former big-city Avery Andrews has returned to her hometown of Dacus, North Carolina, to make a new start in small-town private practice. And she's got all sorts of business keeping her busy.

First there's the team of ghost hunters who come to town in search of long-dead ectoplasm. They end up in trouble with the town's homegrown motorcycle gang and even Avery's own PI as local jokers send them on various wild-goose chases.

Meanwhile, there's a real case involving a long-ago death: the 20-year-old unsolved murder of Wenda Sims. Her niece Neanna has come to Dacus to find out what happened to her aunt, and now Neanna's dead too. So her best friend and adopted sister, Fran French, comes to town and hires Avery to help her find some answers.

Can Avery solve the two murders and prevent Fran from meeting the same deadly fate? And can she help the ghostbusters who are haunting the town? And what about Melvin, her housemate and office mate, who turns out to be an unexpectedly compatible square-dancing partner?

With skill and humor, Cathy Pickens serves up murder and mayhem with a dash of North Carolina flavor in this "Southern Fried Mystery". If you like this one -- and you will -- you'll want to go back and check out the other three books in the series: "Southern Fried", "Done Gone Wrong", and "Hog Wild".

Avery, her family, and her friends and cohorts just keep on getting better as the series continues, but Pickens includes enough of the back story in each book that you can start anywhere and still enjoy the ride.

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