Whenwinter hits Crozet, Virginia, ithits hard--and hangs on formonths. Thats nothing new topostmistress Mary Minor HarryHaristeen and her friends, who keep warm with hard work, hottoddies, and rabid rooting forthe University of Virginiaswomens basketball team at theold stadium affectionatelydubbed The Clam. But the usual postgame high spirits are laidlow when contractor H. H.Donaldson drops dead in theparking lot. And pretty soonword has spread that it wasnt aheart attack that did him in. It just doesnt sit right with Harrythat one of her fellow fans--perhaps even an acquaintanceor neighbor sitting close by inthe stands--is a murderer. Andas tiger cat Mrs. Murphy is all too aware, things that dont sitright with Harry make herrestless, curious, and prone topoking her not-very-sensitivehuman nose into dangerousplaces. So the animals start paying closer attention to whatthe people around them aredoing--and theyre the first onesto realize when the nextmurder occurs.It seems obviousto Harry that the deaths are connected--and she intends tofind out exactly how. Theres noshortage of suspects,considering that H.H. was aladies man whod left a trail ofbroken hearts all over town--the most recent belonging to hiswife-- and that the secondmurder victim was not verypopular in Crozet.As the policelaunch their investigation, Harrypicks up clues through savvy questioning of everyone sheknows. But its the critters whoare most attuned to trouble--they scent something wickedwafting Harrys way on the tailof the next snowstorm. And as Harry draws closer to the truthabout a brutal killer, Mrs.Murphy and her friends realizeits up to them to make suretheir intrepid mom lands on herfeet.