Dangerous Consequences

Early in Booth’s fine fifth mystery featuring Branson, Mo., sheriff Hank Worth (after 2020’s Fatal Divisions), Hank finds his wife, Maggie, an ER doctor at the local hospital, waiting for him in the police department parking lot. Maggie is worried. Over the past month, 10 tourists, all 65 or older, have checked into the hospital with various serious ailments. Maggie, who’s kicking herself for not getting better information about the patients such as the hotels they were staying at, wants Hank to investigate. As Hank and his deputies begin to ask questions, a body turns up by the side of a highway. The victim is a real estate agent who had been quietly buying up properties in and around Branson and had recently segued into time share sales. Meanwhile, unrest within the sheriff’s department is surging with harassment from recently fired officers turning violent. Hank must not only solve a murder and protect the resort town’s vital tourist trade but battle ugly dissension within the ranks. Booth’s complex characters drive the plot, and Branson provides a colorful yet subtly dangerous background. Regional mystery fans will be well satisfied. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (May)