Josie, a laundromat owner and stain expert in small-town Paradise, Ohio, tries to get some much needed publicity for her town by inviting herself on the Tyra Grimes Home Show. (Paradise, with a flagging small-town economy, has just received a bitter blow: being dropped off the State of Ohio map.)
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Everyone laughs at Josie's scheme... until Tyra herself comes to Paradise. Tyra turns the town upside down--reporters descend upon the town when the famous style-diva Tyra sets up a press conference to make a major announcement, giving only vague hints about why she must make this announcement from Paradise.
But before the press conference can take place, Lewis, the owner of the local funeral home, is found murdered in a nearby forest... with Tyra knocked unconcious near his body. Elroy, another local business owner--and one of Josie's friends--is also found near the crime scene, wielding a gun he can't remember acquiring because he's so disoriented from eating wild mushrooms that have him exclaiming about large, white rabbits. The local police chief, John Worthy, is only too happy to pin the murder on Elroy (especially since Elroy and Lewis have a long-standing rivalry), but Josie can't believe the gentle Elroy would really murder anyone. What's more, Tyra's appearance in Paradise, and her upcoming announcement, seem to have something to do with Stillwater Farms, a nearby residential home for adults with autism, where Josie's beloved cousin Guy lives.
Josie investigates to find out the truth behind Lewis's murder as well as Tyra's appearance in Paradise, assisted by her new boyfriend, Owen, and her good friend, Winnie (who is also the librarian on the county bookmobile.) Her investigation is troubled by a tornado, an attack with a lime-jello mold by Lewis's widow, two nutty tabloid reporters... but Josie perseveres and, in spite of having to hijack the book mobile in order to chase down some bad guys, discovers the identity of the true killer and brings the killer to justice.
The review of this Book prepared by Sharon Short