Hangman's Lane

A policeman is suspected of murdering his wife in veteran author Wainwright's ( The Man Who Wasn't There ) engaging procedural. On patrol in the Yorkshire village of Gauntley, Constable Alex Wardle finds the body of his wife, Tabithanot Tabitha? CK , glad you picked up on that; reviewer repeated the error on galley promo/sss her chest blown away by a shotgun. She was known to be a nymphomaniac, and even Wardle's daughter thinks he alone had a motive to kill her. Or so she tells detective inspector Lyle, brought in to help with the investigation. Hindered by sloppy police work and the officers' belief that ``nobody in Gauntley is capable of killing,'' Lyle interviews some of Tabitha's possible partners, but senses that the gaps between the few facts of the case are where he will find the killer. Readers will enjoy the story's satisfying resolution, Wainwright's psychological asides and his deft portrayals of Gauntley residents, whose invasive network of narrow-minded gossip he lays bare. (May)