In Agatha winner Bowen's perfectly paced, deftly choreographed Welsh cozy, her eighth to feature Constable Evan Evans (after 2003's Evan Only Knows
), Evan looks into two eerily similar abduction cases—one old, one new. When five-year-old Ashley Sholokhov goes missing during a seaside excursion, suspicion points to her Russian father, who's estranged from her mother. Meanwhile, to celebrate the 80th birthday of curmudgeonly gentleman sheep farmer Tomos Thomas, his middle-aged progeny return to the grassy, boulder-strewn hills of Llanfair, carrying blame, survivor's guilt and unanswered questions concerning the long-ago disappearance of Sarah, Tomos's granddaughter. The parallels between Sarah and Ashley weigh heavily upon Evan, who's eager to live up to his recent promotion to the Plainclothes Division. In desperation, Evan sticks his neck out a bit too far in this gorgeous and unruly terrain, where a hike in the hills can become treacherous when the sun goes down. Fortunately, his charming schoolmarm betrothed, Bronwen, is there to provide solace. Bowen delivers an enchanting portrait of Wales with genuine, flawed characters, a modicum of humor and plenty of red herrings to keep the detective constable and the reader guessing. Agent, Meg Ruley. (Apr. 16)
