Murder in Burnt Orange: A Hilda Johansson Mystery

Set in the sweltering summer of 1905 in South Bend, Ind., Dams's absorbing seventh Hilda Johansson mystery (after 2008's Indigo Christmas) finds Hilda, a Swedish immigrant who's moved up the social ladder from housemaid to lady, pregnant with her first child and restless. "Downright fratchety" is how her worried Irish husband, Patrick, describes her to his Uncle Dan, proprietor of Malloy's Dry Goods. For diversion, Hilda starts to look into local crimes, including a suspicious fire at Malloy's store in which a man burns to death. The deliberate derailment of a train in Ohio that kills 21, one of a number of recent train wreckings, points to a greater mystery. In the end, Hilda must try to avert a major Labor Day riot. Well-portrayed characters and a final surprise sure to please series fans make this a winner. (Sept.)