The Stalking Horse

Crisp dialogue and a tightly woven plot elevate the common theme of revenge to new heights in McGown's third novel (after An Evil Hour ). Businessman Bill Holt fails to convince anyone that he did not commit the two murders of which he is accused: that of his lifelong friend, Alison Bryant, and of a private detective he never even met, Michael Allsopp, who had been assigned to trail Alison. Holt spends 16 years in prison pondering the link between the crimes and becomes obsessed with discovering the identity of the murderer, belatedly realizing that it had to be one of his acquaintances. When he is paroled, he returns home to the English countryside in quest of the truth and the person who framed him. But an unforeseen event complicates Holt's plan of revenge: he encounters Jan Wentworth, a freelance writer, who believes in his innocence and wants to help him pursue the culprit. Their combined efforts lead to a surprising conclusion in a first rate mystery thriller that is engrossing right from the start. (October)