Exile Trust: A Frank Cole Mystery

Frank Cole, now a freelance fact-checker for insurance companies and law firms in the small panhandle town of Exile, Fla., has local police chief Denny Dannon to thank for what at first appears to be a mundane assignment at the outset of O’Neil’s enjoyable third mystery (after 2007’s Reduced Circumstances ). Cole agrees to look into a complaint concerning the safe-deposit procedures at Exile’s lone bank as well as locate several safe-deposit box holders the bank has lost track of. Of course, things don’t turn out to be that simple. When a box owner, Dorothea Freehoffer, takes a fatal tumble down the stairs of her home, Cole suspects foul play. Given the somewhat predictable resolution and dearth of plot twists, some readers may wish the author would provide his engaging protagonist with a more challenging puzzle leading to a better payoff next time. (June)