Dipped, Stripped, and Dead — Elise Hyatt

Refinishing furniture can be the end of you.

Dyce (short for Candyce) Dare never thought she'd end up twenty-nine and divorced, with a toddler to raise, an ex who "forgets" his child support, and a diet consisting mostly of pancakes.

To make ends meet, Dyce takes a chance and starts up Daring Finds, a furniture refinishing business. But finding things to refinish is tough -- especially when Dyce goes Dumpster diving for discarded furniture and uncovers a gelatinous-looking corpse. Turns out the body was immersed in a vat of lye -- a technique used for refinishing furniture -- making Dyce a prime suspect.

Now, in order to clear her good -- and thanks to her parents, slightly absurd -- name, Dyce has to play private eye. But solving a murder isn't child's play, especially when the next victim just might be her...