Quiet Murder: A G.D.H. Pringle Mystery

Back from the delights and terrors they encountered in America's gambling capital in Unwillingly to Vegas , the amateur detective team of retired tax collector G.D.H. Pringle and his lively companion, barmaid Mavis Bignell, pursue a case of murder in their own London neighborhood. Elderly Ernest Clare is found killed shortly before his annual disbursement of Christmas club money at Mavis's pub. Suspicion falls on former resident Karl Gough, a young truck driver and petty criminal inexplicably returned to the area that day, who disappears after the crime is uncovered, having stolen another senior citizen's credit card. Mavis convinces her paramour to break into Ernest's house to see if the money is still there; Mr. P. is caught, but not before finding a possible clue. That and their belief that Gough wasn't violent enough to have committed such a brutal murder, or to have assaulted his estranged wife (as is later reported), lead the duo to the resolution of this sad tale of contemporary life. Livingston's quiet humor and sure affection for her cast of pensioners shine through a thoroughly satisfying puzzler. (Apr.)