As director of the charitable and prestigious Ballantyne Foundation of Sea Pine Island, South Carolina, Elliott (Elli) Lisbon is also expected to perform discreet inquiries for the foundation's donors and close friends. This works out well with her other pursuit as an official PI-in-training. She just wishes it didn't also involve murder.

The Christmas season is in full swing, and the opening night performance of The Nutcracker hits a snag when the Sugar Plum Fairy, Lexie Allen, is found dead in her dressing room. It appears she died of accidental poisoning from eating her own baked cupcakes that contained lethal berries. But Lexie was an excellent cook and Elli finds it hard to believe Lexie would not know the difference between berries. Could she have committed suicide, as some infer, or was it murder?

Not willing to agree with the conclusion of the police, especially that of ex-lover/cop Nick Ransom, Elli starts her own investigation into Lexie's death. She again must deal with an ensemble of quirky suspects as she digs into Lexie's background and those of her friends and family. Just when Elli thinks she has all the answers, more questions come up, and she's following a new trail of clues.

As the third book in Kendel Lynn's Elliott Lisbon mystery series, SWAN DIVE reunites us with Elli, a delightful amateur sleuth with an aversion to germs, who's always willing to right a wrong. Using her uncanny cleverness and deep-seated loyalty, she deftly handles whatever comes her way -- eventually. Now, if she could just find the right man to love...maybe in the next installment in this perfectly delightful cozy mystery series.