Death in Lovers' Lane

A talented journalism student is murdered because of her investigation into three old, unsolved crimes in this third, fairly routine Henrie O mystery (Scandal in Fair Haven, 1994). Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins, a widowed newspaperwoman, teaches journalism at Thorndyke University in Missouri. Her student Maggie Winslow is found dead in the Lovers' Lane where two undergraduates were murdered 10 years earlier. Henrie O decides to find Maggie's killer but first must discover which of the old crimes Maggie was probing led to her murder: the 1988 Lovers' Lane murders; the shooting of local businessman Curt Murdoch in 1982; or the 1976 disappearance of Dean of Students Darryl Nugent. Following Maggie's trail, Henrie O searches through newspaper files and interviews old witnesses and new suspects, including a womanizing journalist and his angry wife; a high-living English professor and his father-in-law, a novelist; and the cold, controlling president of Thorndyke. Henrie O makes accusations in a process of elimination and places herself in jeopardy before she solves the crimes, to the embarrassment of the university powers-that-be, an eventuality that strongly suggests that Henrie O's next adventure won't be set in Missouri. Henrie O fans will surely enjoy this latest adventure, although Hart's Death on Demand series, featuring bookstore owner Annie Darling, better illustrates her light touch and humor. 35,000 first printing; author tour. (Feb.)