The Refuge (Maxie and Stretch Series #3) » (Unabridged)

Sue Henry won both the Anthony and Macavity Awards for Best First Novel for Murder on the Iditrod Trail, the first of her Jessie Arnold mysteries.

A Maxine and Stretch Mystery

After nine months on the road, Maxie McNabb is ready for some R&R, Alaska-style, with her miniature dachshund, Stretch. But no sooner has the sixty-something RVer parked the Mini-Winnie than a pleading phone call sends her flying to Hawaii. Because Karen Bailey, hobbled by an accident, needs Maxie's help packing up her house. But within hours of Maxie's arrival, a prowler tries to break in and someone sabotages the plumbing. And when she hears Karen whispering into the phone- don't call here...I'll call you when it's safe, when she's...- Maxie suspects that Karen is hiding something.

Far from home and no longer behind the wheel, Maxie feels as though the ice is melting around her.

Publishers Weekly

At the start of Henry's intriguing third mystery to feature Maxie McNabb (after 2006's The Tooth of Time), the 64-year-old Alaskan leaves home-and her mini-dachshund Stretch-to help a widowed, injured acquaintance, Karen Parker Bailey, in Hawaii. Hobbling on crutches, Karen needs Maxie's assistance packing up to move back to Alaska, but Maxie's reluctant good Samaritan work turns hazardous: the first night a prowler almost breaks in, the next day Karen's plumbing is sabotaged. Maxie senses Karen is concealing something when she overhears a whispered phone call. Maxie hires Jerry, the conveniently just-fired plumber's assistant, to help with the move. When Karen goes on ahead to Alaska, Maxie rents an RV so she can tour the island with Jerry until their flight home. But the real danger closes in as they travel to a park, the Refuge, which, of course, turns out to be anything but. Despite a touch of cuteness, Maxie is good company, and she teams with Jerry to entertaining effect. (Apr.)