Death at Dovecote Hatch

Set in 1932, Cannell’s enjoyable second Florence Norris mystery (after 2014’s Murder at Mullings) finds the intuitive housekeeper of Mullings, the Stodmarsh family home in the village of Dovecote Hatch, looking into another suspicious death. When genteel bachelor Kenneth Tenneson takes a fatal fall down the stairs at Bogmire, his sizable, “grim-looking” Victorian house, the coroner rules his death an accident. Tenneson’s miserly elder sisters and his sweet young ward stand to inherit his estate, but a secret second will reveals the existence of another potential heir. Florence, who suspects someone pushed Tenneson down the stairs, joins forces with Inspector LeCrane, who played a lead investigative role in Murder at Mullings, to sift through the clues and determine who has the most to lose by the second will’s revelations. A strong cast of village characters and an intricate plot will keep cozy fans turning the pages. [em]Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (July) [/em]