Gone Missin’

Early in Peden’s so-so sequel to 2017’s Your Killin’ Heart, Campbell Hale, manager of a Nashville travel agency, is a little surprised when her good friend and client, rich former debutante Bitsy Carter, books a short holiday at a five-star spa in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, on a day when Campbell isn’t in the office. After two weeks pass with no word from Bitsy, her husband and parents report her missing. Campbell then sets off for Mexico with handsome but irascible Nashville police detective Sam Davis in tow. In addition to investigating, Campbell is secretly hoping to ramp up her relationship with Sam, a reluctant suitor given to fits of pique when Campbell’s detecting methods reap real clues or when she offers obvious suggestions that he overlooked. A spunky heroine and smooth prose compensate somewhat for a plot with few surprises, and red herring suspects who are underdeveloped. Cozy fans have seen this all before. (Jan.)