cover image Manor of Death: A Domestic Bliss Mystery

Manor of Death: A Domestic Bliss Mystery

Leslie Caine, . . Dell, $6.99 (372pp) ISBN 978-0-440-24177-5

Caine delivers another top-notch Domestic Bliss whodunit, her third after False Premises and Death by Inferior Design . Everyone in Maple Hills, Colo., has something to hide, and that "something" has to do with the decades-old death of Abby, the young girl who is rumored to haunt the Victorian mansion next door to interior designer Erin Gilbert. When Erin witnesses a ghostly apparition frolicking on the mansion's widow's walk one night, she chalks it up to a publicity stunt for the town's annual historic homes tour, in which she has an active part. She's taken the job of renovating the mansion, which means tearing out walls as well as uncovering hidden rooms, bizarre clues and cryptic messages behind old wallpaper. After another young girl dies in the same way Abby was killed, Erin joins forces with hunky Steve Sullivan, a fellow interior designer, to investigate. Suspects abound, and most of them are longtime neighborhood residents. Can Erin unravel the truth before she becomes the next victim? Nifty decorating tips complete the package. (Jan.)