Bantam of the Opera

Bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn isn't exactly bellowing "Bravo!" over the news that obnoxious opera star Mario Pacetti and his entourage are coming to stay at the Hillside Manor. The world-class tenor is a renowned pain-in-the-neck—a bloated buffoon who could easily eat her out of house and home. So when the puffed-up, would-be Pavarotti inadvertently drinks poison and falls down dead on his tosca, accusing eyes turn to Judith and her amateur sleuthing partner, cousin Renie. Now it's curtains unless the cousins can unmask the real culprit—before a killer's final, fatal encore. ### About the Author Mary Richardson Daheim is a Seattle native who started telling stories with pictures because she didn't know how to write.  After acquiring the rudiments in grade school, Daheim penned her first mystery novel at age eleven.  She admits it was terrible, but "showed promise."  Thus encouraged, she went on to graduate from the University of Washington's School of Communications, having acquired the knowledge and skills to support herself until she wrote a better book. In 1983, Daheim published her first historical romance, *Love's Pirate* , for Avon Books.  She followed this award-winning novel with *Destiny's Pawn, Pride's Captive* and *Passion's Triumph,* all for Avon, as well as several historicals for Harlequin.  An avid mystery reader, Daheim decided to try her hand at murder and mayhem with the creation of the Bed-and-Breakfast series from Avon, beginning with *Just Desserts,* and followed by *Fowl Prey, Holy Terrors, Dune to Death, Bantam of the Opera, A Fit of Tempera* and *Major Vices*. Daheim is married to David Daheim, an instructor of cinema, literature, and English at Shoreline Community College.  The Daheims have three daughters: Barbara, Katherine, and Magdalen.  Daheim is member of the Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America and Romance Writers of America.