Escaping the city, and her coed-chasing ex-husband, part-time journalist and full-time failed mystery writer Emily Kincaid has moved into a cozy cabin nestled in the woods of northern Michigan. Emily spends her days writing for the local newspaper and crafting her latest forgettable novel. Then one morning her quiet life turns grisly when a severed head tumbles out of her garbage can.

The victim belonged to the Women of the Moon, a group of old ladies who sing and dance around a bonfire in the woods late at night. The members claim it's just a harmless act in praise of mother earth, but certain townspeople don't see it that way. Now, one by one, the women are turning up dead.

Between hosting her ex and his female "assistant," reluctantly raising a rambunctious new puppy, and forming an uneasy alliance with the fractious Deputy Dolly, can Emily put an end to the killings -- and somehow preserve her sanity?

• January 2012 Indie Next List
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