Vindication: A Matt Royal Mystery

A case of literary theft propels Griffin’s appealing 11th outing for semi-retired Longboat Key, Fla., lawyer Matt Royal (after 2016’s Mortal Dilemma). Aspiring mystery writer Esther Higgins, a 62-year-old resident of the Villages, a large planned retirement community in North Central Florida, makes the mistake of showing her unpublished manuscript to Ruth Bergstrom, the head of her book club, who has connections in the publishing world. Ruth discourages Esther, but secretly shares the manuscript with mystery author Olivia Lathom, who appropriates the text for her newest book, which becomes a bestseller. When Olivia is fatally shot at the Villages, where she has come for a book signing, the authorities charge Esther with murder. Since Esther is the aunt of Matt’s police detective girlfriend, J.D. Duncan, he agrees to represent her. J.D. goes undercover as a clerk at a local bookstore as part of the effort to prove Esther’s innocence. Matt will need all of his considerable skills to ferret out the hidden identities and relationships that are key to the solution to this well-plotted whodunit. (Jan.)