Lineville, Iowa, is your typical small town: box-lunch auctions, doors left unlocked, and plenty of gossip. So the last thing Lineville's inhabitants expect the summer of 1920 is murder. When snooty Sophia Vander Veen, part owner of the Mineral Springs Resort, is found murdered after the disastrous Fourth of July ball, not many people are upset. But Maude Lovett, a self-styled detective who prides herself in her shrewd observation abilities, vows to get to the bottom of the murder and the malicious pranks that led up to Sophia's death. Maude makes it her duty to determine if the pranks—a snake in Sophia's closet, a headless statue in her bed, and noxious gas in her suite of rooms—and the murder were committed by the same person. With suspects from bootleggers to close acquaintances to waiters at the Mineral Springs Resort, Maude has her work cut out for her and must quickly eliminate suspects in order to squelch rising fear. With help from her niece, Lilly, and her friends; her sister, Nell; and everyone in between, Maude labors to bring justice to her once-safe town. Upon questioning her final batch of suspects, Maude learns the killer's identity and then uses herself as bait in a dangerous trap to snare the murderous perpetrator. Surprising twists, a bit of romance, and humor laced throughout are sure to keep you turning the pages until you too discover the target of Maude's iron-willed persistence.