The Tooth of Time

Sue Henry

While visiting Taos,New Mexico, Maxie Mc Nabb and her dog Stretch parks her Winnebago to stay for a while. She has to visit Weaving Southwest, a specialty yarn and weaving shop. Maxie has ordered yarn through the shop for years for her knitting. Now she visits in person. Through Betty, the owner, she meets a woman in the hospital who tried to commit suicide - or did she? Shirley says she didn't. Maxie offers her a bed the first night after she walks out of the hospital.

Shirley leaves quickly the next morning while Maxie is getting breakfast. Maxie wanders around Taos for the day. She sees Shirley once in the afternoon in the distance. She gets the local weekly paper and reads about the body found in a weaver's dying vat. That evening she joins Betty at the local night spot and runs into an old friend from Alaska. Butch adds to her enjoyment of her time in New Mexico.

The next day, though, Maxie visits Shirley and discovers her dead in the bathtub with her wrists slit. Maxie wants to learn what happened, yet she knows she shouldn't get involved. Instead she visits with Butch, spends time with the weaving community, and sight sees in Taos. Then someone breaks into the Winnebago and searches it. Now Maxie is closely involved rather than watching from the fringes.

Maxie McNabb is a 60+ year old widow who travels around the United States in her Winnebago with her dachshund Stretch. She is from Alaska and now is enjoying the freedom of traveling around the country. She has a strong character and will. She also ends up (like Jessica Fletcher) in the middle of murders.

This mystery has its interesting twists and turns, including an abduction that directly affects Maxie. The end includes an angle I hadn't considered but made sense once it was explained. This is an entertaining light cozy mystery with an interesting heroine.

Notice: Non-graphic violence, Suggestive dialogue or situations

The Serpents Trail
The Tooth of Time
The Refuge
The End of the Road