SOMETHING IN THE BLOOD
by J.G. Goodhind
Bath, England, beloved scene of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, suddenly becomes a hotbed of modern murder.
Hotel manager Honey Driver, widowed mother of a teen and daughter of a matchmaking mom, is taken aback when her job as police liaison for the Bath Hotels’ Association turns out to be no sinecure. After an American tourist disappears from a downmarket bed and breakfast, Honey suspects the worst but is pooh-poohed by attractive DS Steve Doherty. She can’t help but feel vindicated when the man turns up dead under the Poultney Bridge. The fact that Steve admires her body more than her mind doesn’t keep Honey from plunging into the investigation, which has links to the B&B owner’s ex-husband, recently released from prison; wealthy Lord Charlborough; his brassy second wife; and several enigmatic retainers. The tourist was a private detective who was loosely related to Charlborough’s first wife. But when the body of the B&B owner’s second husband is found in their garden, the trail seems to lead straight to the ex-con. Certain that Doherty is on the wrong track, Honey continues to investigate, putting herself in danger from a killer who has cleverly hidden his tracks.
The kickoff to Goodhind’s new mystery series—fast-moving, with a likable heroine and an impeccably rendered Bath background—is sure to be a hit with Anglophiles.