Magnolias, Moonlight, and Murder (An Ellie Avery Mystery)

Settling her family - Air Force pilot Mitch, baby Nathan, and daughter Livvy - into their new home in Georgia, Ellie Avery is busier than ever. With two children under four, a party to plan for Mitch's promotion, and new contacts to develop for her organizing business, Ellie's eager to relax by taking Rex, the family Rottweiler, for a peaceful stroll. But what they find is anything but tranquil. As evening's shadows fall, Ellie stumbles into an abandoned graveyard disturbed by flooding from a recent storm. It's a chilling enough setting without the shocking spectre of two dead bodies...unearthed from the same grave. The skeleton that belongs in the washed-out gravesite is that of a young casualty of World War I. The probable identity of the fresher corpse leads Ellie into a missing-person case centred around Jodi Lockworth, a vibrant young woman who once lived in the house the Averys are now renting. Although Jodi was a beloved member of the community, her part-time gig as a newspaper reporter may have put her on the wrong side of a few prominent citizens. When Ellie discovers a vital clue in her very own home, she becomes the next target of a sinister schemer who'll stop at nothing to protect a deadly secret. Now, with a double mystery brewing and dozens of guests about to arrive in her back yard, Ellie's agenda is once again packed. The only thing she hasn't pencilled in is one killer of a party crasher who intends to make this celebration Ellie's last.