RISING

Another chapter chronicling life in none-too-peaceful Coolidge Corners, Vermont, where honest, kindly police chief Judd Springfield (Someone Else's Grave) is beginning to question the quality and strength of the almost completed Mill River Dam. Built by big outside interests, backed by politicos, overrunning centuries-old farms, the dam is not Judd's favorite project, and when he sees strange new water patterns and the fragility of the dam's bedrock, he worries. In the meantime, the death of the project's engineer McNeil by seemingly accidental drowning and a theft at his apartment in the aftermath raise questions complicated by two more drownings--both of important dam personnel. Eventually Judd's anxieties persuade the reluctant Mayor and council to authorize a warning system--and a good thing too, as Judd finds vindication, tracks a murderer and almost loses it all in a tense race against the inevitable disaster. Overall, Judd continues to be warm and winning, with an ungooey new romance, a few gritty local characters, and a neatly resolved puzzle.