The Ashtabula Hat Trick: A Milan Jacovich/Kevin O'Bannion Mystery

In Roberts's workmanlike 18th whodunit featuring Milan Jacovich (after 2013's Win, Place, or Die with Dan Kennedy), the Cleveland PI searches for a killer in a quiet Ohio community. After the first two murders in Queenstown's history overwhelm the small local force, the mayor of Cleveland agrees to assign someone from his department to investigate; that duty falls to Det. Sgt. Tobe Blaine, Milan's significant other. Milan accepts her request to come along and help out, but their interracial relationship%E2%80%94she's black, he's white%E2%80%94raises hackles in the closed-minded town. The amateurish nature of Queenstown's law enforcement, including a coroner counting down until retirement, handicaps Milan and Tobe as they try to determine the link, if any, between the killings of rancher Paul Fontaine, who was knifed through the heart, and insurance salesman Cordis Poole, whose head was bashed in. Some readers might prefer less of a heavy-handed contrast between the good and the bad guys. (Aug.)