A Lethal Lesson: A Lane Winslow Mystery

One snowy day in December 1947, new teacher Wendy Keeling fails to show up at the one-room schoolhouse in King’s Cove, British Columbia, in Whishaw’s assured eighth Lane Winslow mystery (after 2020’s A Match Made for Murder). Lane, who served as a British intelligence operative during WWII, goes to the cottage that Wendy shares with her predecessor, Rose Scott. There Lane finds Rose lying on the floor with a bloody head wound and the home ransacked. After rushing Rose to the hospital, Lane reports what happened to her police inspector husband, who takes over the case. Meanwhile, Lane does her own investigating into Wendy’s whereabouts and whether her disappearance is connected with the assault on her roommate. Lane must balance her probing with a new role that’s even more daunting than her spy work—serving as the school’s interim teacher. Whishaw nicely captures the rhythms and dynamics of small-town life while maintaining suspense. Maisie Dobbs and Phryne Fisher fans will be pleased. (Apr.)