A Shroud for Aquarius: A Mallory Novel

Mystery writer Mallory was a precocious reader as a youth and for years shared the thoughts spawned by great books with his high school friend Ginnie Mullens. But the two lost touch as adults although they lived in the same small Iowa town. Nevertheless, Mal is troubled by Ginnie's apparent suicide and agrees to help the police chief, sub rosa. Tracing her life back from her recent business success to her '60s-style rebellion, Mal is saddened to uncover gambling and drug trafficking in Ginnie's history, a history some of her associates would persuade him to leave alone. His investigation, however, also uncovers another former schoolmate, this one grown into a beautiful and engaging woman. Mallory, met before in No Cure for Death and Kill Your Darlings, is a likable, brave and sensitive fellow who has believable and entertaining adventures. Foreign rights: Dominick Abel. November 11