Murder in Ely: A Third-Culture Kid Mystery

Nelson’s sixth Third-Culture Kid mystery (after 2014’s Murder on Insel Poel) takes freelance translator Annie Young-Perret to Ely, England, where she and her husband, Roger Perret, a police chief from France, visit with old friends Janet and Rod MacKenzie. The action gets off to a strong start as a hit-and-run accident leaves Rod with a broken leg, Roger has a heart attack requiring surgery and an extended convalescence, and Rod’s computer-consulting business partner, Simon, is found murdered. The pace slows as Annie begins work on a novel-within-a-novel about Etheldreda, a seventh-century saint. Meanwhile, somewhere in the Swiss Alps, four of the world’s principal bankers gather for a clandestine meeting. When Rod goes missing and word gets out that he and Simon had been collaborating on a top-secret project, the plot thins to a disappointingly transparent excuse for a mystery. Add a couple unresolved plot points and the best part of this one might just be Etheldreda’s story. (May)