Murder Old & New

Buchanan, Pa., nostalgia shop owner Livy Crowe, the narrator of this intriguing series launch from horror writer Williamson (Psycho: Sanitarium) and wife Laurie, is dismayed to discover a batch of old black-and-white photos in an envelope among her late father’s effects showing a hanged man. Livy decides not to ask her mother, who’s just moved into the Gates Retirement Home, about the photos for fear of upsetting her, but a local doctor helps her identify the hanged man as town pariah Elmer Bingley, whose death was ruled a suicide in 1935. Further sleuthing suggests that Bingley was the victim of a serial killer. Meanwhile, on a visit to the Gates Home, she learns that two women have recently died there in unnatural fashions. Spry Harold Newbury, her favorite Gates resident, and police lieutenant Dave Hutchins, who grows into a romantic interest, help Livy unravel crimes both past and present. The stakes are high since the next victim could be her mother. The Williamsons do a good job balancing suspense and humor. Fans seeking an edgier version of Jessica Fletcher will want to see more of Livy. (Aug.)