Caroline Catz

The Birch Grove elder home's motto is "Life begins at 70." Unfortunately, life also ends there for Johnny Jones, a '50s crooner drugged and drowned in his bathtub. It seems that the former heartthrob never lost his sex appeal, as Ash and Scribbs turn up plenty of suspects among his aged admirers and rivals.

The brutal murder of Christine Archer, proprietress of a local dog day care center, introduces Ash and Scribbs to some temperamental canines and eccentric, equally temperamental owners. But, as Ash and Scribbs soon discover, the bonds between dogs and their masters often prove stronger than those between human beings.

Who saved the last dance for Sandra? The lovely young salsa enthusiast took a tumble off a high balcony, and her death definitely looks like murder. The investigation leads the detective duo to Middleford's steamiest salsa club, where the passions run as hot as the rhythms--and even Ash catches the fever.

"Marriage is where we admit that our parents were right," Ash advises Scribbs. "Don't ever forget that." At this wedding, though, the father of the bride winds up dead wrong. Peeking behind the bridal veil and bouquets, Ash and Scribbs find that nothing is exactly what it seems.

Estate agent Phil Jakes doesn't seem to care that most of his clients and even his colleagues hate him. But them someone closes Phil's sale for good by applying a paperweight to the back of his head. His murder involves Ash and Scribbs in the seamy, cynical world of suburban real estate.

After teenager Holly Andrews dies of a single stab wound in a church graveyard one night, Ash and Scribbs delve into schoolgirl witchcraft at exclusive St. John's Academy. A coded diary reveals that more than one suspect was doing the jolly with Holly. But who was casting black spells on whom?

Bernard Lloyd raised an incessant ruckus with his DIY projects--until someone remodeled the back of his skull with a claw hammer. Is the killer his long-suffering wife? A fed-up neighbor? Never content with the obvious suspects, Ash and Scribbs realize that the truth will require deeper digging.

Middleford Comprehensive offers an education to die for, if you can get your child in. As gatekeeper, school secretary Helen McKey could subtly influence admissions, but then a hit-and-run driver sent her on permanent sabbatical. Ash and Scribbs sort out which highly motivated parent had a motive for murder.

A burnt-out, smoking Mercedes. A charred corpse in the passenger's seat. A single set of footprints leading away from the scene. The clues take Ash and Scribbs to Millionaire's Row, where everyone has piles of money and secrets worth killing to keep.

"The heart of every suburb is its golf club," says Grace Bailey, manager of Middleford club. "Here is no different." But after one of the club's co-owners drowns at his stag party, Ash and Scribbs discover that it's also the heart of sexual intrigue, office infighting, political corruption--and murder.

The supporters of the Jungle Alert, a charity for African animals, seem like a generous, respectable lot who live in fine homes. "But behind the double glazing, they're shagging each other silly," observes Scribbs. And such monkey business may have led to death for one big-ticket donor.

When a beautiful blonde businesswoman winds up stabbed, Ash and Scribbs follow the trail to Applejacks, an upscale singles club. Immersing themselves in the party scene, they find out that some of the club's members play the field, and at least one plays for keeps.