Another retrospective look into the prehistory of the Moonlight Magnolia detective agency. Someday, Savannah Reid will be the scourge of San Carmelita, California's underworld, fighting crime alongside her husband, police detective Dirk Coulter. But right now, she's just one of a pack of unruly young'uns dumped on her granny Stella Reid by their no-account mother, Shirley, currently a guest of the state of Georgia. Stella makes the best of her burden, keeping order in the house and food on the table. But she still has time for a night out at Burger Igloo, McGill, Georgia's attempt at haute cuisine, with Sheriff Manny Gilford. Their meal is interrupted by eccentric Dolly Browning, who lives alone with even more cats than Stella has kids. Dolly's found Yolanda Ortez lying in an alley after being assaulted by Billy Ray Sonner, leader of the Lone White Wolf Pack, McGill's answer to the Proud Boys. Yolanda survives, Billy Ray not so much: He's found dead a couple of days later at a derelict motel. And Yolanda's hardworking papa, Raul, is squarely in the frame for his murder. One thing leads to another, and soon enough smitten Manny invites Stella to accompany him on more of his investigation activities than he probably should. Still, Manny's fondness for Stella gives her a chance to get at the truth--and gives young Savannah a taste for detection that will bloom into a lifelong vocation. A blast from the past. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Set in McGill, Ga., sometime in the 1980s, McKevett's bittersweet third Granny Reid mystery (after 2019's Murder in the Corn Maze) finds Stella Reid preparing for her first date with Sheriff Manny Gilford, much to the amusement of the seven grandchildren she's raising alone. The rare night out for the overworked grandmother is interrupted when Manny is called to investigate an assault on 19-year-old Yolanda Ortez by local lowlife Billy Ray Sonner and his racist gang. The attack was interrupted before the worst could happen, but Manny is anxious to find Billy Ray before he does more damage, or Yolanda's outraged father gets to him. When Billy Ray's ravaged body is discovered at an abandoned motel outside of town, no cause of death is apparent, but the door is duct-taped from the outside. Stella knows only too well that even good people are capable of diabolical acts. McKevett poignantly evokes how difficult and all-consuming raising seven children can be, but in Stella she has created a woman strong and loving enough to do it. Readers will hope this series has a long run. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Assoc. (Feb.)