Cozy fans who enjoy ample servings of tongue-in-cheek humor may find Merrill’s (The Witches of Commack, Maine) series debut to their taste. Oddball Gertrude, who lives in Mattawooptock, Maine, is concerned about a nearby trailer, occupied only by two young neglected children. She noses around and finds a pay stub indicating that their mother, Lori, works in a strip club, Private Eyes. Gertrude adroitly gets the local transportation service for the disabled to give her a lift to Private Eyes, but strikes out there. She has more luck when she conducts a thorough search of Lori’s belongings, uncovering some compromising photographs, including ones featuring the town’s slimy mayor, Lance Pouliot, who once tried to burn down Gertrude’s church. Gertrude’s inept doggedness will entertain readers who don’t take their mysteries too seriously. (BookLife)