Element of Doubt

This mild and methodical mystery unfolds in a picturesque English village where gentlemanly detective-inspector Luke Thanet is hard-pressed to discover who pushed beautiful but unpleasant Nerine Tarrant over the second-story balcony of her manor ""High Gables'' to her death below. There is no lack of suspects, and Thanet, with stolid, respectable Sgt. Lineham at his side, is kept busy interviewing them. Did Nerine's husband Roland, although seemingly shattered by her death, finally seek revenge for her many infidelities? Could her senile mother-in-law, terrified at Nerine's threats to send her to a nursing home, have given her the fatal shove? What about Celia Speed, whose husband and son were both having affairs with the promiscuous Mrs. Tarrant? Even Nerine's 18-year-old-son Damon and her sister Daphne may have their own complicated reasons for wanting her dead. Kindly, pipe-smoking, utterly domestic Thanet gently probes into every aspect of village life, carefully gleaning leads from the most recalcitrant suspect. The seventh book in the Luke Thanet series is a bloodless mystery with emphasis on a thoughtful, logically persued course of action that does, however, end up being solidly charming. (March)