cover image A Grave Waiting: 
A Moretti and Falla Mystery

A Grave Waiting: A Moretti and Falla Mystery

Jill Downie. Dundurn (IPS, dist.), $11.99 mass market (368p) ISBN 978-1-4597-0636-1

At the start of Canadian author Downie’s rote second mystery set on the island of Guernsey (after 2011’s Daggers and Men’s Smiles), Bernard Masterson, a bullet hole in his forehead, lies on his bed on his opulent yacht, apparently shot from a distance, perhaps by a marksman. Det. Insp. Ed Moretti and his partner, Det. Sgt. Liz Falla, soon discover that Masterson, an international arms dealer of dubious legality, had any number of people who might have wanted him dead. The subsequent murder of Masterson’s bodyguard suggests that whatever purpose the killer had in shooting Masterson, that person’s quest is not yet finished. This gray procedural, as gloomy as the channel weather, will appeal more to armchair travelers than to mystery buffs, who may be reminded of Ngaio Marsh on an off day. Agent: Bill Hanna, Acacia House. (Dec.)