A Face at the Window: A Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery

Ozzie Campbell disappears just before he's about to go on trial for murdering Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree's mother in front of the then three-year-old Jake in Graves's engrossing 12th mystery to feature the handywoman and former Manhattan financial manager who's resettled in Eastport, Maine (after 2007's The Book of Old Houses ). Jake's instincts go on high alert after a pair of obvious out-of-towners show up in Eastport, asking questions about her. Then someone abducts Leonora, the little girl Jake has been caring for while her mother is on vacation in Europe, and Leonora's teenage babysitter, Helen Nevelson. The narrative twists around Helen's desperate escape and survival story, and Jake's own tale of capture and rescue as they both battle heartless kidnappers, the harsh terrain and puppet master Campbell's efforts to force Jake to recant her witness statement. Relentless pacing, an appealing heroine and perfectly loathsome antagonists will more than satisfy series fans. (Dec.)