Fakes and Lies: A Naomi Blake Mystery

In Adams’s plodding 12th Naomi Blake mystery set in the British Midlands (after 2016’s A Murderous Mind), 19-year-old Bee Jones is certain that her late father, artist and successful forger Freddie Jones, was murdered, even though the police have determined that he died of natural causes. Shortly before his death, Freddie told Bee his life was in danger. She asks Bob Taylor, a friend of her father’s, for help. Bob in turn consults Naomi, a blind former police detective. Freddie’s death soon ties in with the ruthless murder of gallery owner Antonia Scott and the theft of a portfolio of Freddie’s drawings. The jumbled story that follows includes a kidnapping, torture, multiple murders, and a fire bombing. While Naomi, a pleasant woman who’s no astute thinker, sits at her specially adapted computer gathering data, Bob, Bob’s wife, and Det. Insp. Karen Morgan run after clues and confront villains. A hazy mixture of police procedural, psychological thriller, and cozy, this outing will please series fans, but others may wonder what to make of it. (May)