cover image RESURRECTION ROAD: A Bay Tanner Mystery

RESURRECTION ROAD: A Bay Tanner Mystery

Kathryn R. Wall, . . St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95 (304pp) ISBN 978-0-312-33793-3

In Wall's fifth book to feature tough, determined and thoroughly modern Bay Tanner (after 2004's Judas Island ), the widowed South Carolina accountant has basically disbanded her nascent detective agency, while her relationship with sexy Frenchman Alain Darnay seems headed in the right direction. But Bay's past comes back to haunt her after young Carter Anderson, who blames her for his dad's death, confronts her ("I want to know why you killed my father"). When Carter goes missing, Bay and Darnay become suspects in the boy's disappearance. Wall paints an almost Kafkaesque scenario as a new detective, a recently appointed judge and a web of evidence, circumstantial or manufactured, begin to box Bay into a corner. For once the powerful connections of Bay's lawyer father are of little help. Wall manages to imbue the vestiges of the old South with only a tinge of regret and yet still milks the romantic ambience effectively. Bay's resourcefulness and courage are again tested fully as fans have come to expect in this increasingly popular series. Agent, Amy Rennert. Regional author tour. (May 9)