Susan Miccio

When Hurricane Jonah hits the Delmarva coast head-on, antiques expert Abigail ("Abby") Forrest Swann and her Tibetan Spaniels, Dawa and Senge, hunker down in their historic home, Swann's Nest. Nearby, the townspeople of Murderkill Beach flee inland to safety. After the floodwaters recede, Abby and the Tibbies travel to Murderkill Beach to check for damage at Dashiell Hall, an 18th century museum house where Abby volunteers as a tour guide and living history interpreter. She arrives only to learn that her friend and business partner, Birdie Dunn, has reported her husband missing. Buddy Dunn, the town’s mayor, went out to look for their runaway Pug, Ollie. Ollie eventually turned up, but Buddy has disappeared. Abby joins the search party that fans out over the town and the surrounding wildlife refuge. As she and the Tibbies scout the terrain around Dashiell Hall, Dawa and Senge find the mayor sprawled over a tree trunk, dead. Everyone says he died of natural causes, but Abby has doubts. Did Buddy Dunn stumble across something sinister in the swamp? To find the answer, Abby must navigate the meandering waterways and secretive goings-on, past and present, around Murderkill Beach. Will the hidden box of pre-Civil War letters guide her to a clue? Or, will the intriguing Australian environmental science professor, or that likable student of his, throw her off course? Meanwhile, the clever Dawa, an “old soul,” embarks on a mystical journey to ancient Tibet, her faithful brother Senge and a sassy Siamese cat named Ah Choo by her side. Will Dawa find a link to lives long ago? In the thrilling conclusion, Abby falls in trouble up to her neck. Can the Tibbies and their buddy Ollie save her?