Erased from Memory

A well-crafted plot and an engaging cast of characters headed by smart, plucky Carla Day and her gentle, 86-year-old Egyptologist father, who suffers from Alzheimer's, lift O'Hehir's refreshing sequel to 2005's Murder Never Forgets . When Carla and her father visit Northern California's Egypt Regained Museum, where an ancient coffin lid he discovered is displayed, Dr. Day's concern for a man collapsed on the floor lands him briefly in jail as a murder suspect. The victim, who was just in a coma, later wakes up at the hospital and abruptly disappears—only to turn up dead with an ankh in his mouth. While the intermittently confused Dr. Day stubbornly insists on revisiting the coffin lid, Carla launches an investigation that will put both her and her dad in danger. A chilling conclusion will catch many readers by surprise. O'Hehir's first novel, I Wish This War Were Over (1984), was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. (Dec.)