Idyll Hands

Starred review from July 9, 2018
Set in 1999, Gayle’s first-rate third Thomas Lynch novel (after 2017’s Idyll Fears) finds the former New York City homicide detective still settling in as police chief of the small town of Idyll, Conn. Lynch has a high-strung station house to win over, and his being gay doesn’t make his crew more welcoming. Besides being excluded from the annual Cops and Firefighters softball game, the chief has to worry whether Matt Cisco, his hot FBI lover, is faithful. Meanwhile, two major crimes occupy the police. Michael Finnegan, one of Lynch’s best detectives, is guilt-burdened because he didn’t promptly report his 16-year-old sister Susan’s disappearance back in 1972; she’s still missing, so Lynch reopens the case as a favor to the grieving man. In addition, the discovery of a young woman’s skeleton in the woods signals that a murderer has eluded justice for decades. The characters’ emotional conflicts are convincing, as are their dogged persistence and ingenuity. This series keeps getting better with each book. Agent: Ann Collette, Rees Literary Agency.