While spending a week at her friend's Christmas tree farm, Liss MacCrimmon Ruskin is drawn into a mystery involving a dead body in a shipment of Scotch pine, a series of "accidents," and a strange maze of trees.

While perusing auction items from the Chadwick estate, Liss purchases a painting of a bagpiper to add to her collection. Her interest shifts from art to sleuthing upon a strange discovery--what appears to be a treasure map tucked behind the canvas. She's even more intrigued when she links the scroll to an early Chadwick who smuggled goods across the Canadian border. So during a business trip to Canada, Liss arranges a meeting with an archivist in...

"Driving on an icy road on a truly dark and stormy night, Liss swerves her car when something darts out in front of it. She braves the weather and discovers a Scottish terrier shivering in the snow. Relieved that the dog survived their run-in, Liss sets out in search of her owner, unaware that the Scottie is actually a tiny celebrity--or that she was dognapped"--Dust jacket flap.

"Liss has suddenly found herself in charge of the March Madness Mud Season Sale, a town-wide celebration created to boost the local economy during the slushy weeks of early spring. With businesses ailing after a rough winter, the pressure is on to make this year's effort the can't-miss-event of the season. But before Liss can get her hands dirty, her husband makes a horrifying discovery. There's a dead man on their property, and he didn't die of natural...