Bad Blood

At the start of this moody standalone from Stacey (No Holds Barred), freelance sports journalist Ben Copperfield helps a woman rescue a panicked horse from an overturned trailer on a foggy Dorset country road. Later, Ben receives a call from the woman’s husband, millionaire Neville Manning, with a lucrative job offer: Manning is dying of cancer, his only son and heir is dead, and he wants Ben to find his long-lost grandson. Not an easy assignment, since the child’s mother is a “traveller” with no permanent address, and likely no love for Manning. Still, Ben manages to track down the long-lost grandchild and his enchanting mother, only to find himself and the boy caught between two dangerous blood feuds—one a vendetta among the travellers, and one a dark secret in the Manning family. Ben must decide how far he’s willing to go to help Manning’s grandchild, even as his own life falls apart. Readers will have no trouble rooting for the conflicted Copperfield, whom Stacey draws with a steady hand. This will please fans of intricately plotted traditional British mysteries. (May)