The Craftsman

In 1969, WPC Florence Lovelady, the heroine of this riveting thriller from Mary Higgins Clark Award–winner Bolton (Dead Woman Walking), is assigned to Sabden, England, where a killer is burying teenagers alive. She plays a key role in putting mortician Larry Glassbrook behind bars for the crimes. Florence remains in contact with Glassbrook, who drops a cryptic hint that he knows more about the murders than he has let on: “Tell it to the bees.” In 1999, he dies in prison. Florence, who has risen to the rank of assistant commissioner, returns to Sabden for his funeral. Later, under a beehive in the yard of his old house, she finds a clay effigy of a bound female figure that she realizes casts doubt on the original investigation’s results. Smart, competent Florence must contend with the disdain of her male colleagues as she doggedly strives to uncover the truth, regardless of the personal or political cost. Elements of witchcraft and the occult take the tale down a dark road toward an ending that’s not wholly convincing. Still, readers will race to get there. Agent: Anne-Marie Doulton, Ampersand Agency (U.K.). (Oct.)