September Publication

In Elliott Light's Chain Thinking: A Shep Harrington Small Town Mystery, the second book (after 2002's Lonesome Song) to feature the rural Virginia attorney, Harrington's hasty decision to become a foster parent to a chimpanzee leads to his playing amateur detective in a murder case involving the chimp's rescuer, a beautiful woman with terrible facial scars. A blurb from Martha Grimes should elevate the profile of this one above the usual small-press level, as will the implicit argument for animal, specifically primate, rights. (Bancroft [www.bancroft press.com], $19.95 224p ISBN 1-890862-21-5)

Correction: In the review of The Best American Mystery Stories 2003 (Forecasts, Sept. 1), the name of one of the story contributors was incorrect; it is Tyler Dilts, not Taylor Dilts.