Murder in Mind

In Heley’s engaging 13th Ellie Quicke whodunit (after 2011’s Murder My Neighbour), widowed Ellie must deal with a ragtag bunch of guests under her London roof. The trouble starts after her irresponsible daughter, Diana, announces that she’s pregnant by ruthless local real estate magnate Evan Hooper. Though upset by the prospect of the thrice-married man she calls “the Great White Shark” becoming her son-in-law, Ellie finds herself helping the Hooper family after a suspicious fire consumes their house. She takes in Evan’s spurned daughter, Freya, and soon-to-be ex-wife, Angelika, but, as one disaster after another strikes the Hoopers, finds herself torn between the instinctive desire to protect Diana and the suspicion that she may be the culprit. Ellie is as spirited as ever, and her daughter as detestable, in this entertaining entry. (Sept.)