BARREN REVENGE

Rating:
Summary: Good British Mystery to stay up for!
Review: A series of unrelated petty crimes culminates in the murder of Judge Sir Leo Farling's houseman in his Cotswold mansion. Could revenge be the motive and Sir Leo the target? Detective-Superintendent George Thorne of the Thames Valley Police is immediately called in to investigate. As he begins to track the criminals, he is distracted by the mysterious disappearance of his wife Miranda, a cross-word puzzle constructor. All the evidence suggests she's gone off with another man, but Thorne is convinced she's been abducted. But by whom? And why? As he struggles to find the answers, he is met at every turn with more troubling information. The shadow of Miranda is everwhere and if the case doesn't crack soon, it seems that Thorne might. The boys down at the station house are convinced he's gone "round the bend" and the boss would like to see him take a vacation, perhaps a permanent one! Thorne's investigation leads him into the all too familiar world of thieves, muggers, and con men, and as the frightening reality of the situation becomes clearer, Thorne finds himself on the run. In the dim light of the underworld, the two cases converge when a bizarre mistake in a crossword puzzle suggests that his missing wife is in real danger! This a good book that is hard to put down.