Family Plot: Another John Pickett Mystery

Early in South’s pleasing third Regency whodunit (after 2008’s A Dead Bore), John Pickett, a Bow Street Runner, accompanies a London magistrate to Scotland to verify the identity of Angus Kirkbride’s stepdaughter, Elspeth. Elspeth has been found barely conscious on the same beach from which she vanished 15 years earlier. Unbeknownst to Pickett, Julia, Lady Fieldhurst, and her two nephews were the discoverers of Elspeth, and Julia, desiring to travel incognito, has registered as Mrs. Pickett at the local inn. The detecting duo work out a plan, each secretly pleased to see the other, despite the great chasm between their social rankings. Suspicious characters abound when, following a celebratory ball in honor of Elspeth’s return, Angus dies before he can sign his new will restoring Elspeth as heir. The jaw-dropping conclusion will have new readers scurrying to catch up on Pickett’s previous adventures and eagerly anticipating the next installment. (Nov.)