And the killer is ..

When actress Lucinda Faraday is found murdered, arranged in a suggestive pose, San Carmelita, California, Detective Sergeant Dirk Coulter catches the case. He is assisted by his private-investigator wife, Savannah Reid, who has been hired by heartthrob Ethan Malloy, a friend of the elderly actress. Complicating the investigation, hoarder Lucinda's mansion is awash in junk, making forensics difficult. An estranged great-grandson, a bitter housekeeper, and a tell-all manuscript provide a mix of suspects and clues. Aided by employees of Savannah's Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency, Savannah and Dirk identify the motive and uncover a killer. Meanwhile, the couple is fostering a precocious six-year-old boy, Brody, whose mother Dirk recently arrested. As Brody worms his way into their hearts, Savannah must balance the conflict between the demands of work and those of a child for the first time. Humor, quirky characters, southern hospitality, food, and the importance of close family and friends frame this satisfying entry in the long-running cozy series. A final plot twist, though expected, will please fans.

The murder of nonagenarian Lucinda Faraday, a former screen siren whose hoarder mansion in San Carmelita, Calif., has literally become a deathtrap, drives McKevett's exceptional 25th Savannah Reid mystery (after 2019's Bitter Brew). Hollywood heart throb Ethan Malloy, who discovered the body, hires his friend PI Savannah to find the killer just as Savannah's policeman husband, Det. Sgt. Dirk Coulter, gets the call to investigate Lucinda's death. Lucinda's only living relative is her dirtball great-grandson, but her longtime housekeeper says she's the sole beneficiary in Lucinda's most recent will. Meanwhile, Dirk's arrest of a druggie mom leads to the woman's six-year-old son being temporarily placed with Dirk and Savannah until a place in foster care becomes available. Savannah and the rest of her transplanted Georgia family assist, including her feisty Granny, as well as everyone considered part of Savannah's Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency. McKevett tempers coldhearted murder with heartwarming relationships as she highlights serious social issues. Cozy fans will rejoice. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Assoc. (May)

The very old and the very young occupy the attention of Savannah Reid of the Moonlight Magnolia detective agency (Bitter Brew, 2018, etc.). Savannah knows that helping her handsome husband, Sgt. Dirk Coulter, isn't always a walk in the park. But nothing prepares her for the challenge pint-sized Brody Greyson provides when she and Dirk try to arrest his mother outside the drug den they've been staking out. After whupping Dirk upside the head, along with every other body part his tiny hands can reach, Brody is so tuckered out that bighearted Savannah takes him home to rest at her place, where she shares space with resident cats Cleo and Diamante and her Granny Reid's old hound dog, the Colonel. Brody turns out to be so sweet and gentle when he isn't seeing his mother hauled off to the slammer that Savannah almost hates to leave him behind with Granny when she gets a call from film star Ethan Malloy begging her to find out who killed his old friend Lucinda Faraday. Lucinda was a knockout in her day, but 40 years past her prime, she's died withered and abandoned in her palatial estate with no one but companion Mary Mahoney to look after her. One room at a time, her massive house filled with clutter until Mary discovered her strangled corpse on a heap of old pizza boxes and expensive clothes that never saw the light of day. Sharp-tongued Lucinda has left behind enough enemies to provide plenty of suspects for Savannah and Dirk to grill. Their adventures at work and on the home front are utterly predictable, but they're such a game pair that you can't help but root for what you know darn well is coming. Hollywood whodunit meets domestic delight. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.