cover image Bury Him Kindly

Bury Him Kindly

Pat Burden. Doubleday Books, $16.5 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-385-42234-5

When the body of a social worker is found in a woodland grave outside the village of Bletch Heath in Herefordshire, suspicion falls on irascible recluse Alice Meddlar and her strapping son, Robby, a shy ``simon,'' or simpleton. Retired detective chief superintendent Henry Bassett considers other possible villains, including newcomers to Bletch Heath, widowed sisters Olivia Mulholland, a former social worker and beefy ``born bossy boots,'' and Annette Gray, once a children's nanny. It takes placid, observant Bassett several days and a few ``thinking pipes'' to come up with a motive and identify the killer. Perhaps too English and too cozy for American readers, Burden's latest Bassett mystery, after Wreath of Honesty , sacrifices suspense for dense local diction and color. (Apr.)