Thread of Evidence

March 1, 2001
DCI Neil Paget returns for another smoothly executed British police procedural, Canadian writer Smith's fourth (following Candles for the Dead). Successful contractor James Bolen, after a public argument with his brother Harry over a new deal that's brewing, is found stabbed to death in a posh hotel room in Broadminster. Although the killer goes to some lengths to make it look like James had roughed up a prostitute who then turned on him with a knife, the police see through the clumsy scheme and bear down on the victim's family and business associates. Paget soon discovers that James had recently assaulted his wife and angered his brother by pushing a business deal that could have ruined the firm but satisfied James's thirst for vengeance on a fellow contractor and relative. A second murder, that of a prostitute who might have known someone involved in the case, complicates matters. Although it becomes more difficult to sort out the truth as Paget and his team continue to investigate, the murderer eventually overreaches himself. Fans of the traditional British police detective mystery will find much to enjoy here. Neil Paget is an engaging, sympathetic character, and the narrative's intricate twists make for a lively read. (Mar. 20) FYI: Smith's first DCI Paget novel, 1996's Fatal Flaw, was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award.

February 1, 2001
Having guided readers on behind-the-scenes tours of New York City's Ellis and Liberty Islands (Liberty Falling) and Mississippi's Natchez Trace Parkway (Deep South), Barr returns to the West in her ninth mystery. On a training assignment to study grizzly bears in the Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park, near the Montana-Canada border, park ranger Anna Pigeon hikes into the mountains with researcher Joan Rand and an Earthwatch volunteer, Rory Van Slyke. But Anna's joy at returning to the wilderness quickly turns to terror when their camp is ravaged in the middle of the night by a grizzly. Rory disappears, and in the morning the faceless corpse of a female camper is discovered. Was the woman the victim of the same bear, or was there a more sinister human element involved? While Barr's love of nature and the outdoors shines through, her plot is rather formulaic and dull, lacking the intensity and excitement of her better novels (Blind Descent, A Superior Death). Still, her fans will want to read. [Mystery Guild main selection and Literary Guild alternate selection; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/00.]DWilda Williams, "Library Journal"

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2000
Set in a deceptively serene village, this police procedural--the latest in Smith's Inspector Paget series--effectively mixes the conventions of the British cozy with a dose of bracing contemporary forensics. Detective Chief Inspector Paget investigates the murder of a real estate developer in Broadminster's poshest hotel. Smith puts a suspense clock on the action by placing a prostitute with the developer just before his murder. She can't remember anything except being struck by him. Then she wakes up to find a dead body beside her and her own body covered in blood. The prostitute, knowing she would be the prime suspect, flees the scene, while (in the odd convention in which murderers think in italics) the real murderer gloats. Paget works against two clocks: the reality that a murder investigation grows cold within 48 hours and the irrational timetable of the killer. Well-disciplined and riveting.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)