THE BIRTHDAY CURSE is set outside the town limits of Dillwood, in a strange old house called the Manor, with a detective who is bold, brassy and only thirteen. Her name is Penelope Amour. Her parents invite family and friends to the Manor to celebrate Penelope's birthday, assembling an odd mix of characters that includes fortune tellers, hoodlums, crazy relatives and a real life drama queen. Complications soon arise when a snowstorm knocks out the power, stranding them in the country, fourteen miles from town. On the morning of Penelope's birthday, they find one of the guests dead. Another guest spins a tale of a triple curse, claiming that two more will die in the next two days. While the adults bumble along trying to find the killer, Penelope enlists the help of friends Ruthie, Wendell and Orson to find the murderer. THE BIRTHDAY CURSE is a blend of humor, mystery and suspense that is a fun read for adults as well as tweens.