I like this series. This wasn't my favorite in the series but I still like the characters and the relationship between Gerry Porter and her granddaughter. I'll keep reading this series, it is a lot of fun. ( )

Gerry Porter, retired school teacher and miniature craftsman, is busy
with the annual holiday auction of dollhouses for the Mary Todd
Retirement Home in Lincoln Point, while she tries to keep up with her 10
year old granddaughter, Maddie. Everything is going as smooth as silk
until the gardener at the retirement home is found murdered and one of
her very own senior craft students and resident of the home turns up
missing. All the clues point to 87 year old Sofia Muniz, but Gerry just
isn't buying it. She knows Sofia better than that. Doesn't she? So,
enlisting the help of one of her fellow craft buddies, Gerry starts
digging to try to clear Sofia's name. Gerry seems to have dug up a can
of worms but quickly realizes it's more like a bed of vipers buried just
beneath the surface in this upscale California community.

I almost quit reading this book twice, but pushed on until I finished
it. Now I'm wondering why. I can't put my finger on any one thing
about this book that left me cold, but it surely did. I won't be
looking for any further books in this particular cozy series. I'll give
it a 1, which is marginally better than a DNF. ( )