Must Maiden Die

Feminist Glynis Tryon (The Stalking Horse, etc.), is back in a new addition to the Seneca Falls historical series. As beautiful as the typical Victorian heroine, she's also a great deal more independent and effective. In the spring of 1861, while the rest of the country is wrapped up in the Civil War's opening volleys, the residents of the small city in upstate New York are more worked up over a local murder. Wealthy businessman Roland Brant has been found dead in his home. Thinking a woman's touch would be helpful in interviewing the family, the police constable, long besotted with Tryon, asks for her help. She finds plenty of possibilities, including an invalid wife and two problematic sons--one hostile and the other drunk. But what intrigues her most is the kitchen maid--young, pretty and mute--who vanished the day of the murder. Could she have had something to do with the crime? Monfredo spins a clever, suspenseful tale that involves gun-smuggling and sexual abuse. She's at her best pulling plot twists out of actual events. Her research is evident on every page. She falters, however, when it comes to characterization: some of her players seem to exist only to make a historical point. Others have unlikely 20th-century attitudes (one conversation about gun control is absurdly anachronistic) that keep the period from snapping to life. (Sept.)