A Beautiful Death

Haymon has earned fine reviews, a Silver Dagger Award and comparisons to P. D. James with her mysteries featuring East Anglian detective Ben Jurnet. With her elegant style and talent for exposing the raw nerves of her characters in a few select words, she cuts right to the heart of her sleuth in this powerful story. A bomb planted in Jurnet's car destroys the front of his home and kills his beloved fiancee Miriam. In a lengthy funk, Jurnet questions the risk of true love, the wisdom of the Jewish god he was learning about and several people involved in earlier cases who bear him a major grudge. This last alley leads nowhere. He makes a quiet trip to Ireland on the trail of a youth, the son of a famous terrorist, who had been visiting neighbors and disappeared soon after the explosion. This trail promises more, yet the solution lies in a third direction, one that may have suggested itself to many readers before it captures Jurnet's attention. Miriam's philanthropic business has brought Pnina, a crippled and intriguing woman, to England. Will she assuage or exacerbate Ben's grief? This particular conundrum provides enough narrative energy to divert the reader who travels the well-lit path leading to Miriam's killer. (Jan.)