Who Killed Cock Robin?

Stiff upper lips prevail in the fourth adventure of narrator Ingrid Langley and her husband, Major Patrick Gillard, operatives of D12, a small counterespionage unit within MI5. While grieving for a friend and colleague (code name Robin) blown up in a car bombing, Ingrid and Patrick must adjust to his replacement, who accompanies them to Longcoombe to investigate the brutal and puzzling murder of Sir John Westfield, a senior MI5 official. The D12 team must deal with hostile villagers, London mobsters, supernatural--or drug-induced--occurrences, a brutal kidnapping and satanic rituals in a tortuous search to find the murderer. Although Ingrid's assumption that ends can justify means and her complacency about Patrick's ruthlessness and violence may put off some readers, the many-layered plot delivers plenty of satisfying action. (Oct.)