Winter at the Door

In this promising first in a new series, cop Lizzie Snow, who was introduced in Graves’s 16th Home Repair Is Homicide mystery, 2013’s Bats in the Belfry, still has her doubts about leaving Boston for Bearkill, Maine, especially since her former lover, police detective Dylan Hudson, made the recommendation. But the possibility that her missing niece, Nicki, could be in the area was enough for her to accept the hazily defined position with the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Cody Chevrier hopes that she can get to the truth in the suspicious deaths of several retired policemen around this Canadian border region. As Lizzie settles in, Dylan’s investigation of two murdered girls in Bangor leads him to Bearkill and an attempt to rekindle his relationship with Lizzie. Amid all the murder and mayhem, Lizzie connects the dots, and the plot cannonballs to a conclusion that leaves readers eager for the next installment. Agent: Jane Rotrosen, Jane Rotrosen Literary Agency. (Jan.)