MALICE IN MINIATURE

Relentless snoop Dorothy Martin (Holy Terror in the Hebrides, 1997, etc.), an American widow transplanted to the English village of Sherebury and now married to its Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt, finds her detecting skills challenged. Bob, the gardener son of Dorothy's charwoman friend Ada Finch, works at Brocklesby Hall, an immense country house on Sherebury's outskirts, owned by sixtyish Sir Mordred Brocklesby. Brocklesby's passion is miniature dollhouses, their contents, and their history. He not only collects but repairs and reconstructs them. The collection, meantime, is open to the public for a fee. Ada has come to Dorothy for help--Bob's wrongly accused of stealing some of the miniatures. Dorothy wastes no time in visiting the Hall and ingratiating herself with receptionist Meg Cunningham. The grim housekeeper, Mrs. Lathrop, is unapproachable, as is her London-based, nasty, ne'er-do-well son Claude. Matters take a serious turn when mother and son are both found murdered and Dorothy, with Alan out of town, is free to indulge in some intense meddling. It puts her life in mortal danger--but nails an unlikely killer. The lore about miniatures has its appeal. The absurd plot has none. Fourth and dullest of this series to date.