DEATH IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

A police officer goes above and beyond to solve her community’s problems.

Sgt. Ali Wren and her springer spaniel, PD Wilson, are settling into Heft, her hometown in North Yorkshire. The place somehow seems busier than Harrogate, the much bigger city where she was stationed before, perhaps because people keep calling on her for matters unrelated to police work. One of the problems is a rivalry between Evelyn Hooley, whose bakery is a staple in Heft, and the owners of Rise, a new bakery just across the street. On a rare day off, Ali and PD Wilson hike to the Black Stone, where young Tom Masters went missing years before. It’s on her way home that Ali runs into Brian Bright, who reports his wife Melody missing. Oddly, Brian has pictures of his late first wife all over his house, making Ali wonder about the state of his current marriage. Ali’s husband, Nick, a location manager for a popular TV cop show, knows Brian as a reliable supplier of cars to the film industry. Even though she thinks that Melody may have just up and left, Ali agrees to investigate. As the bakeshop rivalry progresses toward minor mischief, Melody’s sister claims to know nothing of her whereabouts, though she does mention an old boyfriend. When Melody is found dead at a beach house Brian didn’t know she owned, that old boyfriend becomes a person of considerable interest. Meantime, Ali looks into the old Masters case and unearths new evidence that helps PD Wilson find what’s left of him. Since plenty of mysteries remain for her to solve, it’s lucky that she can rely on PD Wilson’s feelings about suspects to figure everything out.

An excellent procedural featuring a likable heroine and her talented canine partner.