"Homemaking is about to take on a whole new meaning for
Jane Jeffry now that she's agreed to help restore and
redecorate a decrepit old neighborhood mansion. The home's
owner, the prosperously divorced Bitsy Burnside, considers
herself to be a feminist to the max and wants an almost
all-female crew to do the dirty work - prompting the quick-
witted Shelley Nowack to dub the project "the House of
Seven Mabels." With her best friend and decorating whiz
Shelley on the estrogen-heavy team, Jane thinks this
exhausting, plaster-dusty job may not be as unpleasant as
it initially appeared to be." "Until, of course, things
start to get very messy. It begins with a series of mean-
spirited "pranks" - strange odors, mysterious electrical
shorts, a myriad of petty annoyances designed to impede
the progress of the fixer-uppers. And then the pranks turn
deadly, leaving one of the workers lying lifeless at the
foot of a staircase." Tragic, yes, but an accident? Jane
thinks not. And with the able assistance of Shelley, not
to mention a little help from her best beau, Chicago
detective Mel VanDyne, Jane's hoping she can construct a
solid case and nail the assassin. Suspects are certainly
in abundant supply. The surviving members of Bitsy's
building brigade all had the opportunity. Joe Budley - the
contractor originally hired, then fired when Bitsy had
her "no men allowed" epiphany - had a motive. But the more
Jane saws away at the truth, the more complicated the
criminal blueprint appears. And she may be painting
herself into a corner, leaving no exit if a crafty killer
decides to make Jane Jeffry the next demolition project.
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