Homemade Sin — Kathy Hogan Trocheck

ATLANTA'S FEISTIEST CLEANING SERVICE DOES A JOB ON GREASE AND CRIME

Some people might call Callahan Garrity nosy, but she prefers to think of her tendency toward snooping as a healthy interest in the truth. So when news of her cousin's murder reaches her, Callahan shakes off her House Mouse cleaning uniform to don her detective's cap. It's not that she doesn't have confidence in the Atlanta police--she used to be among their ranks--it's just that the crime seems too incongruous with Patti's suburban life to be an accident.

Callahan's search takes her on a convoluted trail starting with Patti's priest, who may have provided more than spiritual counsel, through Atlanta's inner city and into the shady deals of Patti's recently prosperous husband. The pieces start to fall into place, but not everyone is as fond of the truth as Callahan, because the closer she gets to it, the harder it is to stay alive.