Murder in Mind

July 23, 2012
In Heley’s engaging 13th Ellie Quicke whodunit (after 2011’s Murder My Neighbour), widowed Ellie must deal with a ragtag bunch of guests under her London roof. The trouble starts after her irresponsible daughter, Diana, announces that she’s pregnant by ruthless local real estate magnate Evan Hooper. Though upset by the prospect of the thrice-married man she calls “the Great White Shark” becoming her son-in-law, Ellie finds herself helping the Hooper family after a suspicious fire consumes their house. She takes in Evan’s spurned daughter, Freya, and soon-to-be ex-wife, Angelika, but, as one disaster after another strikes the Hoopers, finds herself torn between the instinctive desire to protect Diana and the suspicion that she may be the culprit. Ellie is as spirited as ever, and her daughter as detestable, in this entertaining entry.

September 1, 2012
Ellie Quicke (Murder My Neighbor, 2011, etc.) takes a break from redecorating to help the family of her daughter's fiance escape death. Now that her husband Thomas' family is due to arrive from Canada in a scant two weeks, Ellie dithers over how to house them in the rambling mansion she inherited from her Aunt Drusilla. But her musings over whether to mend or replace the dining room drapes are interrupted by her daughter Diana's announcement that she's pregnant with Evan Hooper's child and plans to wed the real estate mogul as soon as he can shake loose of his third wife, 20-something underwear model Angelika. The divorce has been delayed by the deaths of Fiona, Evan's daughter by his second wife, in a treadmill accident, and of Evan and Angelika's toddler Abigail, who was stricken by anaphylaxis after gobbling down a peanut-laced treat. Ellie worries that the two are connected, but of course the police pooh-pooh her fears. Even when Evan's second wife, Fern, dies of an insulin overdose, they insist all three deaths are accidents, leaving Ellie to take matters into her own hands. She swoops Angelika and Evan's remaining daughter, Freya, into her protective custody and asks former housekeeper Vera to come on board, behavior-disordered son Mikey in tow, to ride herd on the grieving brood. And when the Hoopers' house burns down, sending a concussed Evan to the hospital, Ellie feels time running out before a killer strikes again. Ellie's 12th is right on the money, with the heroine giving as good as she gets in her tangles with the boneheaded local constabulary.

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August 1, 2012
Someone is killing off the family of Evan Hooper, a British real-estate agent whose questionable ethics and aggressive business tactics have upset more than a few of his clients. Amateur sleuth Ellie Quicke is drawn into the case when her unlikable daughter, Diana, becomes pregnant with Hooper's child, despite the fact that he is still married to his third young wife. Diana may love Hooper in her own way, but Ellie is pretty sure her love is founded on Hooper's money and power. However, when Hooper's two daughters and his second wife are all murdered, Ellie is terrified Diana could be next. With the encouragement of her friend, policewoman Milburn, Ellie decides to find a way to protect Diana and the rest of the Hoopers, prevent any more murders, discover the killer and find out why he or she is targeting the Hoopers. Heley's latest, despite its Miss Marplelike heroine and British cozy style, is full of contemporary drama, suspense, and surprises.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)