Threats at Three

The woes of a sluggish economy hang over Purser's slow, less than engaging 10th English cozy featuring Lois Meade, who owns New Brooms, a cleaning service in the village of Long Farnden (after 2009's Tragedy at Two). Lois's husband, Derek, and the committee he heads decide that the best way to raise money to restore the dilapidated town hall, popularly known as "the Shed," is to sponsor a "soap box grand prix." Meanwhile, Lois has to worry about the disappearance of the cheeky 13-year-old son of a woman she recently hired whose absentee husband, an unemployed gardener, may be causing trouble. When someone attempts to torch the Shed and a shabbily dressed drowned man surfaces in a canal, Insp. Hunter Cowgill once again turns to Lois for help. As soap box race day approaches, the unflappable Lois must use more than a broom to close another messy case. (Dec.)