Blood Foam: A Lewis Cole Mystery

Shamus Award–winner DuBois’s serviceable ninth Lewis Cole mystery finds the retired Department of Defense research analyst back in Tyler Beach, N.H., living in the back of his Honda Pilot while awaiting the repair of his “half-burnt home,” which was damaged in 2014’s Fatal Harbor. A call for help from former girlfriend Paula Quinn, whose fiancé, local attorney Mark Spencer, has disappeared without a trace, forces Cole back into action—often violent, gruesome action. In the end, Cole must connect the dots between smalltown New England and a vengeance-seeking biker gang from Cheyenne, Wyo. While DuBois makes the story hang together, some readers will have a problem with Cole, who’s more of a contradictory collection of tropes than an actual believable character. For example, he possesses an old-school sense of honor, but he happily gets extralegal assistance from a rather charming mob boss. Still, series fans will enjoy the ride. [em](June) [/em]