Double Take: A Mellingham Mystery

Oleksiw follows up Murder in Mellingham with another mystery set in the small Massachusetts town. Hank Vinnio, a work-study student at the Massasoit College of Art, is murdered; his body, with his throat cut, is found beneath a toppled shelf of art supplies. Medical evidence determines that the victim's throat was cut after he was knocked unconscious, leading police chief Joe Silva to believe the murder was one of opportunity, not plan. While investigating the school's staff, faculty and student body, Silva uncovers assorted tangled secrets that connect both the wife of the chairman of the painting department and the dour school secretary to the victim. Deftly portraying her eccentric, yet believable, characters from among the school's faculty and staff, Oleksiw re-creates an authentic small-town atmosphere, but her plot, with unconvincing red herrings and unprepared-for resolution, is a disappointment. (Jan.)