From Publishers Weekly This worthy successor to Wallace's superb first collection contains 21 previously unpublished stories from American women mystery writers， each possessing a shrewd eye for human idiosyncrasy. Susan Dunlap sends a deceased woman to "The Celestial Buffet"--after giving her one last glance at her body sprawled on the gloor: "It could have stood to lose five pounds." A lonely woman ignores "Storm Warnings" in Nancy Pickard's tale when she helps set up a scam only to find herself its victim. In Jean Fiedler's "The Snake Plant，" a devious husband mounts a psychological attack on his ailing wife by exploiting her identification with the health of a plant given to her as a gift. During Sharyn McCrumb's "The Luncheon，" a "meek and courteous" woman makes wickedly humorous observations about her high-powered friends and， incidentally， plans her husband's murder. Series characters also appear; for example， Carolyn G. Hart's Laurel Darling Roethke attends a mystery weekend and uncovers a murder plot not listed on the program. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information， Inc.