The Funeral Owl

At the start of Kelly’s busy seventh Philip Dryden mystery (after 2012’s Nightrise), newspaper editor Dryden and his cabbie friend, Humph, are looking for Humph’s missing 15-year-old daughter, Grace, who is found soon after a ferocious dust storm in a remote part of England’s Fen country. Philip considers the storm for a headline, until he visits Christ Church, Brimstone Hill, to do a story on lead theft, and discovers a body hanging on a crucifix. Other local crimes include instances of moonshine poisoning, a cold case involving a series of fatal home invasions, further depredations by the unknown metal thieves, and a fatal explosion. With his perspective, Philip is able to draw conclusions that the local constabulary miss. Kelly pens believable characters amid a rich geography and resists the urge to make every event related. Agent: Faith Evans, Faith Evans Associates. (Dec.)