Last Nocturne

In this less than satisfying period mystery from British author Eccles (Untimely Graves and 12 other titles in her Supt. Gil Mayo series), the suicide of artist Theodore Benton in 1909 London leads Scotland Yard to re-examine the death of Eliot Martagon, the owner of the gallery that displayed Benton's work. At the time, the police were unable to identify a motive for Martagon's blowing his brains out. The investigators—Chief Insp. Philip Lamb, Oxford-educated and a believer in scientific detection, and his detective sergeant partner—are remarkably slow to suspect foul play in either case, placing them several steps behind the reader from the outset. Just as their inquiry gets going, the action shifts to Vienna two decades earlier, to explore the history leading up to both deaths. Solid prose compensates only in part for flashbacks that dilute the suspense. (Feb.)