No one in the neighborhood much cares for the new renter. He’s Rudi Wittener, a professional musician who likes to practice playing the violin outdoors in the buff, while his young live-in girlfriend gives piano lessons. When Rudi’s mentor, Dolph Kluger, and his entourage arrive at the Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast, owner Judith McMonigle Flynn soon comes to realize they’re the guests from hell. To make matters even worse, Judith caves in and allows the Kluger clan and their friends to hold a reception at Hillside Manor. Dolph winds up dead – thankfully not in Judith’s B&B -- and she finds herself saddled with the entire group until police sort out who poisoned him.

For once, Judith’s husband (and retired police officer) Joe Flynn isn’t hounding her to stay out of police business. And one of the detectives on the case, Rosemary O’Grady, is a huge fan of Judith’s – having learned about the amateur sleuth’s exploits from a website not of Judith’s creation. The other police detective is sidelined by super-allergies and doesn’t really care WHO solves his case. Judith’s usual sleuthing partner, cousin Renie Jones, has problems of her own – maxed out and then stolen credit cards for one -- and has to be cajoled into helping. Judith’s mother Gertie is getting loonier by the day (if that’s possible) and her Bible-quoting (and bigoted) housekeeper Phyliss is as obnoxious as ever. Is the job market so tight in the Pacific Northwest that Judith can’t fire her and find someone better?

This is all par for the course at Hillside Manor. But while reading Saks & Violins, I found myself wondering whether this long-lived series might be on its last legs after 15 years. I thought it was more manic than funny and the plot over-the-top unbelievable even for a cozy mystery. A cop tolerating an amateur sleuth? Maybe. A cop delegating work to said amateur? I don’t think so. After Rudi croaked, there wasn’t a single character I even liked – including Judith, who’s getting more than a tad whiny in her old age, and Renie, who is just plain annoying. Maybe it’s time for Judith to sell the old B&B and follow Joe into much-deserved retirement. (originally published in Mystery News, Oct-Nov 2006 edition. ( )