A Death for a Dancing Doll

An idyllic expedition to pick wildflowers near a breathtaking Canadian waterfall turns tragic when a seven-year-old plummets to her death. The child's mother, wealthy Harriet Holly Pulos, blames her niece, Thalia, who was responsible for watching the little girl. Shortly thereafter, Thalia, a promising young dancer, is found dead--an apparent suicide. The bereaved grandmother suspects foul play and hires visiting London barrister/sleuth Robert Forsythe and his secretary/sidekick Abigail Sanderson, in this, their eighth case (after A Death for a Double ). According to several eyewitnesses, Thalia had been madly flapping her arms the day of the expedition and was shouting something from the top of the falls that could not be heard over the roar of the water. What so distracted her that she lost track of her young charge in that tragic moment? Forsythe and Sanderson must find out before more lives are lost. Though the pace occasionally drags, particularly over interludes of redundant Q & A, Giroux wraps up the action with a chillingly apt denouement. (June)