The Other Woman’s House

In Hannah’s somewhat muddled sixth mystery featuring Det. Sgt. Charlotte “Charlie” Zailer and Det. Constable Simon Waterhouse (after 2011’s Cradle in the Grave), Connie Bowskill spots a woman lying in a pool of blood while Connie’s taking a virtual tour of a Cambridge house for sale at 11 Bentley Grove. But when she calls her husband, Kit, to look, the body is gone. Despite Kit’s protests that she must have imagined it, Connie goes to the police, and Simon’s fellow detective, Det. Sgt. Sam Kombothekra, gets the case, Simon and Charlotte being away on their honeymoon. Meanwhile, Connie becomes convinced that Kit is leading a double life based out of 11 Bentley Grove. When another woman reports seeing the same woman’s body, the police—now including Simon and Charlie, who have returned from their honeymoon—realize they might have an actual murder to solve. There’s an unpleasant tinge to Charlie and Simon’s usual banter, while the plotting is subpar. (July)