Silersville, Tennessee, in the Smoky Mountains

Ssserpents in the title; ssnakes on the cover. Snakes in the car with the dead man. Yet for all the sibilants in the setting, MURDER BY SERPENTS is a cozy, small town mystery. Law in the town is in the capable hands of Park County Sheriff Tony Abernathy, a native who spent time with the Chicago police. He brought his family home to the less stressful environment of Silersville after being shot on duty. His wife Theo, also a native, runs Theo's Quilt Shop, where she teaches quilting and designs them, to be included in a book soon to be published. Not so coincidently, author Barbara Graham is also a quilt designer and has included directions for constructing a mystery quilt -- in other words, you won't see the design until you've put it all together. Not much happens in tiny Park County that doesn't find its way to the quilt shop, which Tony calls gossip central.

Did I say less stressful environment? When Tony is called to the parking lot behind Ruby's Cafe one morning by an hysterical Blossom Flowers, days of high stress for him and the town are just beginning. Tony finds a car with condensation on the windows making visibility difficult, but it seems to hold a man with a rattlesnake coiled in his lap. A second snake slithers into sight putting paid to Tony's attempt to open the car. Fortunately, among the slew of quirky characters in the area is one called, with good reason, Stan the Snakeman.

Once the snakes and the body are removed from the car, Tony must identify the man, determine his cause of death -- though that seems obvious from his condition -- and whether foul play was involved. Before he's through, Tony is confronted with enough crime to rival Chicago's meanest neighborhood.

An odd collection of characters add quirky touches to MURDER BY SERPENTS. A minor one, and a minor nuisance to Tony, is Mayor Alvin Cashdollar whose self-important wife is universally known in town as Queen Doreen. Ruby, of Ruby's Cafe, is just one in the line of owners of the cafe to be called Ruby, no matter their real names or even their gender. There is Quentin Mize, apparent cousin of the victim and a substance abuser who is often a guest of the county. Quentin sits in his cell singing duets with a bat named Elvis that only he can see and hear. Amid this quirkiness, however, is a real mystery with more villainy to come. Balancing the tenor of the novel are likable, down-home inhabitants and family. Tony and Theo are the parents of two little boys, eight and six. Tony's mother works in Theo's shop and manages to surprise the younger generation. The sheriff's deputies are interesting in their variety, especially the efficient and dedicated Wade.

MURDER BY SERPENTS is suspenseful, fun, and even a little scary. In Park County, Barbara Graham has the venue for a series of cozy mysteries starring the Abernathys and the townsfolk. Perhaps another is now in the works? As a plus, anyone interested in quilting should visit her website: www.bgmysteries.com.

Jane Bowers