Dead Insider: A Loon Lake Mystery

By the end of Houston’s slight but enjoyable 13th mystery set in Loon Lake, Wis. (after 2012’s Dead Tease), practically everyone in the small fishing town seems to have pitched in on a murder investigation. Lauren Crowell, an enterprising campaign manager for Jane Ericsson, who is running for Senate, at first thinks the candidate’s past demons are to blame for her absence at a key fundraiser. The discovery of dismembered human remains, however, suggests that the truth could be far worse. Police chief Llewelyn “Lew” Ferris, needing all hands on deck, brings on her retired dentist beau, Dr. Paul “Doc” Osborne, to stand in for the out-of-town coroner, while Lew’s visiting daughter, Mallory, helps handle the press. Meanwhile, kind-hearted local fisherman Ray Pradt scours the surrounding woods for clues. Houston’s plot takes too long to get started, but once the case is finally underway, Lew makes for a satisfyingly quick-witted sleuth. Agent: Martha Millard, the Martha Millard Agency. (June)