Sleeping Dogs: A Spike Sanguinetti Novel

British author Mogford’s middling fourth Spike Sanguinetti novel (after 2014’s Hollow Mountain) finds the Gibraltarian attorney with plenty on his plate. His law practice is in financial trouble, he’s still traumatized by the death of a woman close to him, and he’s becoming more and more responsible for the well-being of an orphaned child. Spike gets a bit of a break from the daily stresses when his law partner, Peter Galliano, who’s recovering from a serious injury, invites Spike and Spike’s father to Corfu. Unfortunately, the relaxing vacation goes south pretty quickly. Peter’s affluent neighbor, Sir Leo Hoffmann, has made a significant archeological find from the Bronze Age, but when he leads a party into the excavations, they encounter a corpse. After someone Spike knows is arrested for murder, he investigates with the assistance of his ex-girlfriend, Det. Sgt. Jessica Navarro. The underwhelming mystery and the somewhat clichéd climax don’t do justice to the interesting main character. Agent: Nicola Barr, Greene & Heaton (U.K.). (July)