I am a big fan of Shirley McClintock and her family. I've read every one as soon as I could get my hands on them, and reread each so many times I'm afraid I will have to replace the books soon from sheer wear and tear. Shirley is the non politically correct, common sense first opposite of every fluff headed "heroine" that clutter too many mysteries. The mysteries are clever and beguiling but it is the the people in the books I want to know more about. They are real, flawed, full flavored, and interesting. My only complaint is that Ms Oliphant cannot, under the present law, be forced to write more, more, more.