At the start of British author Mountain's superb second mystery to feature Natasha Blake (after 2005's Pale as the Dead
), an oddly reticent client, Charles Seagrove, has hired the 29-year-old genealogist to research the family history of his granddaughter's boyfriend, John Hellier. Shortly after receiving a cryptic one-sentence note in the post, Natasha, who's become a complete workaholic since the breakup with her own boyfriend 18 months earlier, finds Seagrove shot dead on his Cotswolds farm. At considerable personal risk, she begins a quest into the past that leads to the discovery of horrifying family secrets and a link between the elderly victim and one of the more chilling aspects of Nazi philosophy. A dramatic conclusion, an intelligent, spunky heroine and credibly human and lovable supporting characters lift this refreshing, fast-paced whodunit. (Mar.)
