Dust to Dust

In British author Duffy’s solid 19th Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langley mystery (after 2015’s Ashes to Ashes), the couple tackles a highly personal and sensitive murder investigation. The victims are Patrick’s mentor, Richard Rowallen, the Earl of Hartwood, and Rowallen’s bodyguard, who were shot in the earl’s Sussex castle, despite heavy security precautions. Rowallen, a senior official in the National Crime Agency, was working on restructuring the NCA. Patrick, an NCA adviser, soon finds himself at odds with Rowallen’s successor, Marcia Lindersland, and decides to go after the killer himself. Patrick’s immediate boss, Cmdr. Michael Greenway, tells him that a man Patrick tangled with before, civil servant Nicholas Haldane, might be involved in the murders. Meanwhile, Rowallen’s wife, Pamela, must contend with Lindersland as well as a dodgy American claimant to Rowallen’s title and the American’s lawyer. Brash Patrick and restrained Ingrid must deal with corrupt police, false identities, and various thugs on their way to the explosive conclusion. (Aug.)