Murder on the Moor: A Rex Graves Mystery

At the start of Challinor's rushed fourth Rex Graves puzzler (after 2010's Phi Beta Murder), Scottish barrister Rex and his girlfriend, Helen D'Arcy, are preparing for a party at Gleneagle Lodge, Rex's Victorian estate on Loch Lochy, home to a reputed sea monster, possibly kin to Loch Ness's Nessie. Guests include the local hotelier, Hamish Allerdice, and his wife and two children; Rex's barrister friend, Alistair Frazer; freelance journalist Rob Roy Beardsley; snobby Cuthbert and Estelle Farquharson; and a surprise visitor, Moira Wilcox, Rex's former girlfriend. Meanwhile, a serial killer of young girls is on the loose on nearby Rannoch Moor. The efficient plot thickens after a storm strands the guests overnight and a drowned body surfaces in Rex's loch. Traditional mystery fans will appreciate the retro Agatha Christie style, but some readers might wish the author had invested her Highland characters with more depth. (Mar.)