I’ll Keep You Safe

This competent standalone from May (Coffin Road) takes Niamh and Ruaridh, a married couple who own a small cloth business on the Isle of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides, to Paris, where they plan to exhibit their woven tweed fabric at a high-fashion trade show. At their Paris hotel, Niamh confronts Ruaridh over what she thinks is his affair with Irina Vetrov, a Russian fashion designer. In the wake of their argument, Ruaridh storms out of their room and goes downstairs, where he meets Irina. The pair drive off in Irina’s car, which explodes in a ball of flame a short time later. Initially a prime suspect in Ruaridh’s murder, Niamh returns to the Hebrides, while the Paris police and their local Scottish counterparts pursue the killer. After an attempt on her life back home, Niamh parses her sometimes terrible memories of life on the Isle of Lewis and Harris to figure out the source of this threat. Vibrant details of the weaving trade, the Gaelic language, and Hebrides culture help compensate for a murder mystery with few surprises and a closing twist that’s telegraphed for miles. (Mar.)