cover image File Under--Arson

File Under--Arson

Sarah Lacey. St. Martin's Press, $20.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-312-13972-8

The third in the File Under series (after Missing) finds cocky Yorkshire tax inspector Leah Hunter annoying some dangerous people, even her lover, Detective Inspector Nicholls. When her car mechanic asks her to put a good word into Nicholls's ear about his nephew Billy, who has been arrested for setting a series of fires, she does so to no avail. Billy's prior record convinces Nicholls that he's the culprit. Before Leah can talk to Billy, however, the teenager is found hanged in jail. Then, after taking over the files of an ill colleague, she discovers anomalies in a payment scheduled for a carpet warehouse wiped out in one of the arson fires. Her investigation leads to her suspension after one of the warehouse owners complains, and she becomes convinced that Billy was just a pawn in a larger scheme. Leah's brash style and caustic sense of humor combine with interesting Inland Revenue lore to give a unique spin to this British crime series. (Apr.) Science Fiction and Fantasy