Devil’s Night

An early-morning fire at the Perry Hollow (Pa.) Historical Museum and Exhibition Hall turns out to be the work of an arsonist, in Ritter’s satisfying third mystery featuring big-hearted police chief Kat Campbell (after 2011’s Bad Moon). Whoever set the fire also appears to have murdered Connie Bishop, the historical society’s president, whose bludgeoned body is found in a crawl space below the museum’s gallery. Written on the victim’s hand in black marker are the words: “this is just the first.” A stranger Kat encounters at the scene may be a suspect. Meanwhile, Henry Goll, who was disfigured in the last major fire in Perry Hollow, a year earlier, unexpectedly reappears from Italy. A sack of old bones adds another puzzle, and an international developer has ambitious, unspecified plans for the town. Ritter smoothly blends history and mystery, tragedy and near-tragedy, as Kat courageously tracks down the culprit. Agent: Michelle Brower, Folio Literary Management. (Aug.)