The Woodpecker Always Pecks Twice — J.R. Ripley

A red-bellied woodpecker may lead to a yellow-bellied killer . . .

One morning when unwilling early bird Amy Simms grabs her binoculars for a closer look at the woodpecker who's been waking her up, she can't believe her eyes. Across Ruby Lake, through a curtain of rain, she sees a body being tossed out of an upstairs window at the old McKutcheon place.

Or at least she thinks she does. The police chief finds no body -- only a discarded dressmaker's dummy -- and complains that Amy sent him on a wild-goose chase. She should probably focus on minding her store, Birds & Bees, but Amy can't help snooping. And when she turns up another body -- a murdered member of her birdwatching group -- Amy once again needs to wing it as a sleuth to zoom in on a killer . . .