Carolina Moonset

At the start of this first-class mystery from Goldman (the Nils Shapiro series), Joey Green, the owner of a Chicago jewelry company, returns to Beaufort, S.C., to visit his father, Marshall, who’s suffering from a disease that’s rapidly destroying his short-term memory. Joey offers to stay with Marshall for a few days while his mother, Carol, takes a much needed break. Carol’s three-day vacation in Florida turns into a feverish nightmare for Joey when Thomas Hammond, patriarch of Beaufort’s most important family, is shot dead one night near the Greens’ house. Joey left his father alone during the time of the murder, Marshall hated the Hammond family, and—most worrying—Marshall’s gun is missing. When the police come knocking, Joey is desperate to protect his father, but his impulse to help may make things much worse. As Joey tries to discover who killed Thomas, he comes to realize that Marshall’s teenage memories hold the key to murders that occurred decades earlier. The often amusing dialogue flows naturally, the emotional undercurrents ring true, and the mystery itself offers a full complement of suspects and motives. This novel about love, loss, and family ties isn’t to be missed. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary. (May)