False Images

English historical novelist Dunbar, who won the Mary Elgin Award for her debut book, has now written a first mystery, a romantic thriller that probes the undercurrents of family relationships, in the captivating, if slightly breathless, tradition of Mary Higgins Clark. Art restorer Leone Fleming becomes the target of a stalker after she discovers that a work purported to be a valuable heirloom--a portrait of the Wallace family by the 18th-century British painter Arthur Devis--is a fake. She's convinced that her harasser is the obnoxious Piers Carlton, the son of the family that's trying to sell the painting for an enormous price. However, her father, Sir Richard Fleming, a noted British judge, disagrees. And he has more important worries, as the police have informed him that Vic Morenzo, a gangland killer whom Sir Richard helped send to prison 15 years earlier, is out and has sworn revenge. Complicating matters further is the return of Leone's dashing former lover, Jack, an expert at spotting forgery, from whom she parted more acrimoniously than either would have liked. After Leone's best friend goes missing and then turns up dead, the police step in to investigate. But when both Jack and Piers first look equally blameless, then equally guilty, Leone realizes that she alone must determine who the real threat is. Dunbar's facile style and intricate plotting, as well as her haunting images of English family life and its secrets, will enthrall readers. (July)