An Inch of Time: A Chris Honeysett Mystery

British author Helton's amusing fourth Chris Honeysett mystery (after 2008's Rainstone Fall) takes the bumbling PI and artist from cold, wet Bath to sunny Corfu, at the behest of a supermarket mogul worried about a valued employee, Kyla Biggs, who disappeared there while on holiday. Afraid to fly, Honeysett sets out in a dilapidated motor home with a stowaway cat, a postcard sent by Kyla from Corfu's Niko's Taverna, and Greek language tapes. Once on the island, Honeysett manages to locate fellow artist and friend Morva Lennox, who's living in a remote, abandoned village. Honeysett's aimless search for Kyla nets him a tail from someone in a blue Toyota, warnings from numerous sources, and increasingly weird and dangerous "accidents" at Morva's place. When lover Annis Jordan arrives and Honeysett finds Niko's Taverna, things heat up and the puzzling pieces fall into place in a dizzy, ditsy fashion that matches Honeysett's investigative techniques. (Jan.)