The Christmas Bow Murder: A DCI Jim Ashworth Mystery

Brian Battison. Allison & Busby, $9.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-7490-0475-0

In The Christmas Bow Murder, originally published in 1994 in the U.K., the late Bruce Battison (Jeopardy's Child) introduced his series hero, unconventional Chief Inspector Jim Ashworth. The main suspect in Stella Carway's murder is her husband, but ever-skeptical Ashworth uncovers blackmail, Stella's many affairs and a surfeit of motives, infusing this sensitive first book with suspense.

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