Deb, those look wonderful. Nice work! And fingers crossed, as well.

Did you see I asked our library to stock Famous Flower? The librarian was very helpful and sounded intrigued by the series idea, especially when I told her they already have Weaver on the shelves.

Very nice, deb. Concise, compelling, intrigues without telling.

Slight edits, after Nic's input. I think they're even more terse:

Bruton Town: When Ringan Laine gets a call from his sister Roberta, she has good news; his niece, Rebecca, will be attending a prestigious music school not far from Ringan's Somerset cottage. Since Rebecca is only thirteen and her family is in Edinburgh, Roberta asks Ringan to be her local contact in case of emergency.

The school, the Cordel Academy, is a beautifully restored 18th century manor house in Bruton, near Bath. Ringan, accompanied by his longtime companion Penny, makes himself known to the staff, and sees his niece settled in. Everything seems fine.

But when a distraught Rebecca rings him in the middle of the night, he realises that the school, dedicated to music, houses the spirit of an angry, grieving young woman, whose lover was murdered by her two brothers. Her story is told in the traditional song, Bruton Town. But something about the haunting doesn't fit the song. And unless he can find the truth behind the crime, Rebecca herself may be in jeopardy.

• * *

Proposed summary for book 6 of the Murder, Music & Ghosts series:

Geordie: It's Ringan Laine's fortieth birthday, and his family - mother Maggie, sister Roberta and brother Duncan - have come together to throw him a birthday bash, in Ringan's hometown of Edinburgh. Normally, Ringan would be dreading the idea, but it dovetails nicely with a restoration project he's been asked to help with: a wonderful 16th century pub called the Ladder and Maiden. Since the Ladder (as it's called locally) has a music room upstairs, Ringan, who's played many of Edinburgh's pubs but never this one, agrees to play some solo shows as well.

The first show he plays goes without incident. But the second night, by request, he closes the show with a Scots traditional called Geordie, about a woman pleading for the life of her husband, who has been sentenced to death for stealing the King's deer. And the result is as unexpected as it is terrifying.

edit: here's a new last paragraph for Geordie:

The first show he plays goes without incident. But the second night, by request, he closes the show with a Scots traditional called Geordie, about a woman pleading for the life of her husband, who has been sentenced to death for stealing the King's deer. And the result - the eruption into the crowded room of a violent, passionate phantom - is as unexpected as it is terrifying.

Wouldn't the appearance of a ghost be, almost by definition, unexpected? Would "sudden" work better there?

The first show he plays goes without incident. But the second night, by request, he closes the show with a Scots traditional called Geordie, about a woman pleading for the life of her husband, who has been sentenced to death for stealing the King's deer. And the result - the eruption into the crowded room of a violent, passionate phantom - is as unexpected as it is terrifying.

Here's a suggestion if you want shorter:

By request, he closes a show with a Scots traditional ballad called Geordie, about a woman pleading for the life of her husband, who had been sentenced to death for stealing the King's deer. The terrifying result: a violent, passionate phantom loosed on the crowded room.

Wouldn't the appearance of a ghost be, almost by definition, unexpected?

t nods

Those both sound fascinating, Deb.

ION, Word spellcheck wants me to make "Shropshire" either "shoeshine" or "trashier." Yeah.

There ought to be a "Name" option on spellcheck, at least. Because mine calls up my own name as a misspelled word, which annoys me on some existential level I'm afraid to poke.

Because mine calls up my own name as a misspelled word

Add it to the dictionary -- it'll help your sanity.

I'm thinking it may be too late on that. But maybe it'll slow the leak...

I've added many, many things to the dictionary. Now including Shropshire. But I always check the alternatives first, for sheer amusement value.