The Affliction

Prospects look bleak for once-proud Rye Manor School for Girls in Rye-on-Hudson, N.Y.—and that’s even before a teacher’s body is discovered at the bottom of the pool—in Gutcheon’s amiable if overly chatty sequel to 2016’s Death at Breakfast. Fortunately for fledgling head of school Christina Liggett, retired New York City educator Maggie Detweiler, one of the members of the Independent School Association evaluation team on campus to determine the institution’s fate, dabbles in detection, and before you can say “Jessica Fletcher,” she and her partner in crime solving, socialite Hope Babbin, are on the case. Leveraging their curiosity and extensive social networks, the enterprising pair swiftly discover more suspects than Range Rovers in the wealthy hamlet, including trustees with unsavory conflicts of interest and a staffer’s emotionally disturbed son, not to mention the victim’s overbearing and under-alibied spouse. Plotting, unfortunately, isn’t Gutcheon’s strong suit—with the exception of a surprising and elegant denouement. Still, fans of caviar cozies will find much to savor. [em]Agent: Emma Sweeney, Emma Sweeney Agency. (Mar.) [/em]