NONE THE WORSE FOR A HANGING

Abbotsburn's Detective Superintendent George Rogers, the author's ever self-absorbed, sometimes-inspired sleuth (Murder Be Hanged, 1993, etc.), returns, this time to investigate the case of onetime farmer Philip Cruickshank, found dead by his dentist son Stephen, the body hanging from a garage ceiling beam. Philip had recently been living alone, after what appeared to be the forced eviction of Eunice Parr, his live-in girlfriend, by Stephen and a second man. The eviction was observed by Philip's elegant neighbor Angharad Pritchard, a widow instantly attractive to the divorced and lonely Rogers. Parr, now vanished, had worked at Club Midnight Blue, owned by suave, faintly sinister Robbie Fuller, who proves instantly attractive to Inspector Helen Millier, sent to interrogate him. Meantime, Rogers, exploring Philip Cruickshank's old farm, makes a gruesome discovery and also turns up an intriguing sidelight on Stephen and his sister Veronica. Parr's body surfaces days later—a murder victim—and Rogers closes in on the unexpected killer. Despite some clever plot-spinning, the author's lush, convoluted prose and wordy asides—largely focused on various odors, tobacco addictions, and inner angst—may be a hasty turn-off for all but the most patient and forebearing.