The Innocents at Home: A Superintendent Kenworthy Novel

The murder of schoolteacher Henry Gower brings Superintendent Kenworthy to a village jolted out of its placid ways by events leading to the killing. Keeping the reader rooted to the ramifications in Hilton's 16th novel about the urbane master detective, the question that needs answering is whether Gower was guilty of ""indecent assault,'' as charged by four adolescent girls in his classes. Kenworthy artfully engages the girls' families in sessions with Sgt. Polly Parrot and Constable Patsy Price, skilled at penetrating sham. They hope to breach the conspirators' defenses when the weakest of the quartet confesses the accusation was a hoax. But it is a long and frustrating time before startling facts reward the superintendent and his police women with the case's solid conclusion. The author's insights into fraudulent personas as well as his stinging wit are, as always, the main attraction in his stylish mysteries.(January 12)