"It's been very quiet at the Thomas' household since baby Alley was born almost two years ago. Not a single murder within shouting distance. But that's about to change when Joe stumbles through the dark to bring Alley a glass of water, and trips and falls and wakes everyone except the strange man who appears to be asleep in a chair out by the pool. 'Who dat?' Alley asks. Joe approaches the man carefully. When he's close enough, he realizes it's their next door neighbor's brother-in-law. 'It's Chester Flom,' Joe reports. They know him a bit. He's kind of an ass. 'I think he's drunk,' Joe offers. 'Should I wake him?' 'Yes, tell to go...' Margie starts, then stops. 'No, don't. He's not a nice man when he's sober. If you wake him up we'll have to deal with it. Just leave him there and let him sleep it off.' Of course Chester has been murdered and Margie and Joe -- and little Alley, too -- must sort through a veritable mountain of suspects and motives to solve the crime. Margie because she loves to solve murders, and Joe because Margie's avocation always makes her a target and raising little Alley by himself has him terrified. Pack your bags and come along for the ride. Try to figure out who done it and why. I'll bet you can't." -- Back cover.