REST ASSURED

A foray into a holiday community turns out anything but restful for Chief Superintendent Lambert and DS Hook (Cry of the Children, 2014, etc.) of Oldford CID.

Taking the concept of community policing to perhaps a new level, Bert Hook agrees to help his neighbor Lisa Ramsbottom find the source of the death threats pushed under her front door. But the unofficial investigation requires a trip to Twin Lakes Country Holiday Park, a community of vacation homes in sight of the Welsh hills. In addition to their house in Oldford, the Ramsbottoms own a unit in Twin Lakes, and it’s through the door of that unit that the offending missives have been poked. Once in the country, Lambert and Hook find anything but peace and quiet. Everyone at Twin Lakes seems to be involved in something shady. History teacher Elfrida Potts uses her vacation home for trysts with one of her students. George Martindale makes trips to local highway rest stops to retrieve mysterious packages. Richard Seagrave pretends dishy Vanessa Norton is his wife, while Michael Norrington isn’t actually Michael Norrington, but rather someone who’s left his dodgy past by the wayside. Twin Lakes’ near–full-time resident Debbie Keane makes it her business to ferret out her neighbors’ secrets, so when her husband, Walter, is killed, there’s no dearth of suspects. Still, Lambert and Hook have to tread lightly to solve a case well off their patch.

Solid police procedure once again saves the day, as death doesn’t take a holiday.