The Gospel Makers: An Inspector Webb Mystery

Shillingham, England's Detective Chief Inspector David Webb confronts two seemingly unrelated problems in this 11th in the series (after Three, Three the Rivals). When he is told that a new religious cult has invaded the area, he assigns Detective Inspector Nina Petrie to investigate. Meanwhile, a man is found dead at the King's Head Hotel, leaving no identification, not even his name. Although initially there's no apparent cause of death, the police doctor (whom Webb trusts) has a hunch, which proves true, that the man has been murdered. During the search for the man's identity, Petrie, a somewhat psychologically frail single mom, slowly responds to the lure of the cult and, especially, to one of its male members. Consequently, Webb has not only to find out who the unknown visitor was and why he was killed, but also to worry that his colleague is being brainwashed by the cult. The two problems dovetail, of course, and soon Webb is trying to prove that the cult is involved in the murder. As usual, Fraser skillfully ties all the disparate ends together into another tightly wrought tale. (Feb.)