cover image Summer's Lease

Summer's Lease

John Clifford Mortimer. Penguin Books, $7.95 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-14-010573-5

Bossily capable Molly Pargeter--devoted to Italian Renaissance art and amateur sleuthing--drags her reluctant family to a Tuscan villa. ``Although the momentum falters slightly midway, Mortimer's seemingly effortless command of his craft makes this combination of well-plotted mystery and lightly barbed comedy a compelling pleasure,'' concluded PW. (July)