Doomed to Die

Inspector Luke Thanet and sidekick Sergeant Mike Lineham ( Dead By Morning ) score another hit in Simpson's 10th English procedural. Artist Perdita Master's critically ill mother is in the hospital when Perdita tells her jealous husband that she is filing for divorce. After he follows her to her parents' home, she escapes to an old schoolmate's, where she agrees to act as temporary nanny. The friend returns to find Perdita killed, a plastic bag over her head. Who besides the husband could have wanted Perdita dead, Thanet wonders, and discovers that her possessive mother-in-law and her lover's wife also had motives. Meanwhile, Thanet's home life is in turmoil with his daughter's departure for London and his mother-in-law's heart attack. Fans of Simpson are sure to enjoy this layered, thought-provoking tale. (Nov.)