After three weeks of solid rain, Martinsville's town dock is swept away -- and there's a body in the wreckage. Once again Biscuit McKee, the town librarian, struggles with the wide-ranging ripples that distrust spreads through a community when red-headed Easton Hastings appears and flirts with every man in town.
Marmalade, Biscuit's feline companion, still makes comments, but since her humans don't listen to her, they keep getting into trouble.
Fran Stewart deals with timely, relevant social issues in each of her mysteries: domestic violence and bipolar disorder (in Orange as Marmalade), rape (in Yellow as Legal Pads), apparent suicide (in Green as a Garden Hose), and incest and sexual abuse (in Blue as Blue Jeans). They are traditional mysteries with no overt sex, violence, or foul language, and, at the same time, they are a darn good read, with deftly-handled plots and likeable, believable characters.
