DEAD SET

Police officer Charmian Daniels (Witching Murder, etc. etc.) is enjoying a major promotion and her small house in Windsor, near the Castle. The usually serene town, however, has been shaken by historian Ted Gray's discovery of the strangled body of teenager Louise Farmer and by Gray's subsequent disappearance, leaving behind distraught wife Una, a teacher at St. Catherine's, an elite private preparatory school. When Charmian begins to investigate, she finds an odd atmosphere at the school, centered on terrified young student Pix Prescott and mystifying to charismatic headmaster Luke Mallet. A recent unsolved hit-and-run death may be part of the puzzle, but the case takes a new twist when prime suspect Ted Gray is found shot to death. It needs all of Charmian's considerable skill and intuition to work through a network of deceits to the killer. The author's oblique writing style can be precious at times, but, still, there's a well-crafted plot—plus enough chilling moments—to make for steadily engrossing entertainment.