A STILLNESS IN BETHLEHEM
by Jane Haddam
Seventh in the series—and the first hardcover— featuring ex- FBI agent Gregor Demarkian (``the Armenian-American Hercule Poirot''), who's solved crimes at Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc., and is now back to Yuletide, this time in picturesque Bethlehem, Vermont, site of a two-week-long Christmas pageant that nasty Tisha Verek had filed court papers to stop. Then she's stopped by two rifle shots, as are an elderly knitter; Tisha's husband's mistress; and the Episcopalian minister. Whodunit? Many local types are offered up as suspects, but then Gregor zeroes in on Tisha's book proposal—about children who've murdered, and are still living. Could one of the townspeople have a secret past? And have killed and killed again to conceal it? With an assist and comfort from girl-chum Bennis and friend Father Tibor, Gregor pinpoints the murderer and brings peace back to Bethlehem. On-target snipes at New England tourists, back-to-the-land yuppies, and small-town gossips. And the author can be charming- -albeit long-winded.