Goodreads Librarians Group discussion

Hi guys
I would like a more experienced librarian (than me) to make an exec decision on this book and subsequent series numbering: Down the Garden Path: 0140266232 (ISBN13: 9780140266238)

As some readers have noted in their comments field (& as I am also reading the book & can agree), this is not, in fact part of the Ellie Haskell series, despite numerous references to it as on the internet as being #2 in the series. In fact three sites (including Wikipedia) I checked all have this book listed as #2. It is a stand-alone book.

Here is a blurb for your reference, from the Calgary Public Library's site:

One of the most beloved names in the cozy mystery market, Dorothy Cannell has been credited with originating the genre. In this classic display of her talents she tells the story of Tessa Fields, a young orphan determined to uncover her true origins. With the help of the Misses Tramwells, two endearing elderly ladies, and the reluctant assistance of her secret love, Harry Harkness, Tessa hits upon a scheme that finds her feigning amnesia and recovering in the Tramwells's ancestral home. But it isn't long before Tessa smells a rat. Why does the butler creep around in his socks, and what was he doing in her closet? How does the coquettish maid know all about Tessa'and even more about Harry? And why are these little old ladies so fiendishly good at cards?It soon becomes apparent that the game being played out in this proper English town isn't poker or whist'it's murder. And with the deck stacked against her, Tessa must unmask the perpetrator before she's dealt a fatal hand.

I don't want to make a mess of the database on this one, since the rest of the series will have to be renumbered if you decide it's worth the trouble to change it.

Thank you for any advice or for your hard work on the corrections.

Does the author's site have any information about the series? Publisher's site?

I did some looking into this, but didn't find anything concrete.

The author doesn't have a website.

Macmillian (one of the publishers) only lists the last three books in the series - but numbers them as 11, 12, and 13 out of 13. The series list on Goodreads has 14.

Pengiun, who has also published editions, has only one book from the series and it does not have a series number.

B&N lists it as #2, Amazon has one edition labeled as "A Tessa Fields Mystery" and two other editions with no series.

The LoC lists some of books as part of a series, but the majority of the books do not have a series attributed to them.

LibraryThing, Wikipedia, Fantastic Fiction, Cozy-Mystery.com and Books-n-Bytes all have Down the Garden Path listed as #2. But none of them are particularly reliable sources in the grand scheme of things.

My thought before looking into it was that it was included in the series because of the Tramwells, who seem to be in other books in the series. So even though it doesn't feature Ellie Haskell, it's still in the Ellie Haskell Mysteries "universe."