Wall's winning sixth Bay Tanner mystery (after 2005's Resurrection Road
) finds the Hilton Head, S.C., "inquiry agent" up to her lovely green eyeballs in clients with hidden agendas. When a two-year search by Bay's partner in her PI agency, Erik Whiteside, finally locates the black sheep brother of Miss Addie, an elderly lifelong friend of Bay's family, the brother's return to Hilton Head is the first clue in a tangle of criminal activities and murder. An attractive escort service employee enlists Bay's help to hunt down a rapist, and a Georgia socialite wants to locate her missing Prince Charming. When a badly beaten corpse shows up on the beachfront, the dead man may fit one or both of these bills. Digging deeper whisks Bay into a puzzle that stretches from the mainland to the Virgin Islands and involves both lowlifes and the monied aristocrats. Oozing Southern charm, this whodunit flows like hot molasses to a deliciously clever conclusion. (May)
