Dead Tease: A Loon Lake Mystery

Reading Houston’s spare 12th Loon Lake mystery (after 2011’s Dead Deceiver) is like listening to a raconteur catching you up on the rural Wisconsin community, complete with contextual interjections and regionalisms (e.g., “razzbonya,” local vernacular for nincompoop). The stabbing murder of Jen Williams, a young woman of easy virtue who just had an afternoon tryst with a married man, is the first of several unnatural deaths. Deputy coroner Paul Osborne, a retired dentist, assists Loon Lake police chief Lewellyn Ferris in her investigation, which centers on neighbors and staff at the clinic where Williams worked, including a hostile ER physician, Cynthia Daniels. Series fans will enjoy spending time with old friends, but others may wish the suspense wasn’t limited to wondering how high the body count will rise before Ferris stops the culprit. Agent: Martha Millard, Martha Millard Literary Agency. (Mar.)