The Oxford Brotherhood

It’s 1994 in Martinez’s outstanding sequel to 2005’s The Oxford Murders, and G, who’s studying mathematical logic at Oxford University, is developing a computer program to analyze handwriting. Meanwhile, word of a discovery has roiled the world of Oxford scholars working on a definitive annotated edition of Lewis Carroll’s diaries. Intern Kristen Hill, who’s been going through Carroll’s papers, claims to have found a lost diary page with a sentence written by the author’s elder grandniece that she believes “can answer the question that hangs over Lewis Carroll,” whether his contacts with little girls like Alice Liddell were inappropriate, “but in a totally unexpected way.” Kristen won’t show G the page, which he gathers she’s removed from the collection, until she’s confident she’ll be credited for the discovery. G’s program could help authenticate the handwriting, but before Kristen can present her findings, she’s seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver who apparently targeted her. G teams up again with Oxford professor Arthur Seldom to investigate. Martinez combines an inventive plot with characters readers will root for. Dan Brown fans looking for a literary thriller with depth will be compulsively turning the pages. (Apr.)