Husband and Wives

At the start of Cooper’s absorbing 11th mystery featuring Oklahoma sheriff Milt Kovak (after 2009’s Rude Awakening), a phone call from a hysterical teenage girl takes Milt to a gated community in “Prophesy County’s answer to Beverly Hills,” where he finds the body of Mary Hudson, the caller’s mother, lying on her kitchen floor in a pool of blood. Milt discovers that Mary was one of three wives of Jerry Hudson, who recently moved from Oregon and bought three houses at the end of a cul-de-sac for his wives and 14 children. The two surviving wives paint a rosy picture of plural family life for Milt’s psychiatrist wife, Jean McDonnell, who assists with the murder investigation. Who would have wanted the beloved Mary dead remains a puzzle, until Milt and his deputies start unearthing some unsavory links to the Hudson family. Sympathetic characters, sharp dialogue, and a twisty plot help make this a winner. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary Agency. (May)