The Cuckoo's Child

Laura Harcourt, the plucky 21-year-old heroine of this solid stand-alone set in 1909 from British veteran Eccles (Last Nocturne), has sought her independence from her wealthy family by serving in a refuge for destitute women in London's East End. After realizing that such work is not for her, Laura accepts a position in Wainthorpe, a small Yorkshire town, to catalogue books in a 16th-century manor house owned by Ainsley Beaumont, who runs a large mill in the area. On arrival, Laura is shaken to see that a wing of the house destroyed in a fire years before remains "an empty fire-blackened shell." Later, when a man's body surfaces in the water near the mill dam, signs of blunt force trauma to the head suggest foul play. The killer's identity will surprise more than a few readers, but the book's main strength lies in the author's gift for describing people and scenery. (July)