Light from a Distant Star by Mary McGarry Morris

An excellent book about Nellie, her little brother, Henry, her rebellious half sister Ruth and their disfunctional parents.  Throw in along the way are the weird neighbors, the Humboldts; she is a huge woman and her brother is a cross dresser.  Dad owns the hardware store which is about to go under due to Home Depot, Walmart and all the other chain stores. Mom is a beautician forced to go back to work to help support the family.  Charlie, the grandpa, owns the junkyard and employs ex-convict Max as a helper.  Add in the bunch of local weird kids that Nellie and Henry go to school with for a place that is never dull. 

To make more money, Mom rents the small attached apartment to her friend's niece, Dolly Bedelia, who is a stripper and exotic dancer at a local watering hole.  She is also having an affair with Mr. Cooper, who wants to buy the family hardware store and whose children go to school with Henry and Nellie.  When Dolly's water heater goes out, Max comes to fix it.  Nellie is watching him.  When he asks Nellie to see if Dolly is home so he can finish the connections, Nellie finds Dollie dead in her kitchen and the house in shambles.  Max is soon arrested but Nellie is sure he did not kill Dolly. She thinks she knows, but no one takes her seriously.  No one will listen.  Instead, her parents take Nellie to a psychiatrist.

Can Nellie get Max off the hook and help the adults discover the real killer?  Read and see!