That Missing Piece Is Killing Me

Noonan’s meandering second adventure for puzzle-obsessed 65-year-old Oregon librarian Alice Pepper (after Puzzle Me a Murder) suffers from jagged pacing. When former action film star Michelle Chong—now the middle-aged proprietor of a martial arts and dance studio in West Hazel, Ore.—disappears, her husband, temperamental artist Lars Olsen, tells police his wife must have been kidnapped. Alice, meanwhile, finds Lars’s behavior suspicious: he displays little grief over Michelle’s disappearance, and instead exploits the situation to boost publicity for his latest paintings. She decides to investigate with the help of her many friends, including wig retailer Ruby Milliner and senior center manager Stone Donahue. Also joining the hunt is Alice’s sister, Violet, who sincerely believes she has psychic abilities, and her granddaughter, Madison, a rookie cop on the West Hazel force. The crew’s initially breezy investigation takes a dark turn when someone connected to the case turns up dead. Noonan’s rambling plot trips over false leads, red herrings, and interpersonal dramas until it arrives at an unremarkable resolution. This misses the mark. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (July)