The Couple at Number 9

In 2018, Saffron Cutler, one of the narrators of this intricately plotted puzzle from British author Douglas (Do Not Disturb), and her partner are enlarging the kitchen of their cottage in Beggars Nook, a quaint Cotswold village, when builders discover a human skeleton in their back garden. Further digging uncovers yet another body. Forensic evidence indicates that the two—a man and a woman—were killed sometime between 1970 and 1990, years that overlap with the period that Saffron’s grandmother, Rose Grey, occupied the house. Rose, now suffering from dementia, lives in a nursing facility. Her occasional flashes of lucidity seem to offer clues to what might have happened all those years ago. But danger isn’t confined to the past. The discovery of the bodies awakens the interest of a murderer who will do anything to protect his secrets. Tension builds as the characters’ backstories unfold through multiple perspectives, including that of one person whose relationship to the others isn’t immediately apparent. Douglas does a fine job fairly misdirecting the reader. This gripping tale is sure to garner her new fans. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Aug.)