Classic Mistake: A Case for Jack Colby, the Car Detective

Two cases preoccupy amiable Jack Colby in Myers’s engaging fourth mystery featuring the classic car expert (after 2012’s Classic in the Clouds). Jack’s spoiled, demanding ex-wife, Eva, who ran off with Mexican musician Carlos Mendez 20 years earlier and has now returned to Maidstone, Kent, needs Jack’s help. Carlos’s body has turned up on the River Medway towpath. Meanwhile, attractive Daisy Croft wants Jack to find her stolen Morris Minor, which she calls “Melody.” In amusing and confusing fashion, Daisy’s car is repeatedly found only to disappear just as often. With Eva’s arrest for Carlos’s murder, Jack has to revisit Carlos’s old band mates and a long-ago robbery in an effort to prove her innocence. Dotty archeologist Ambrose Fairbourne and Daisy’s unusual “gran,” Belinda Fever, provide enigmatic clues. A wealth of classic car lore adds to the fun. Agent: Dorothy Lumley, Dorian Literary Agency (U.K.). (Aug.)