All Hallows' Evil (A Susan Henshaw Mystery #4)
The two Halloween murders in Wolzien's ( An Old Faithful Murder ) pedestrian mystery are far from gory or even startling, and the novel's central characters remain inconceivably fearless after the killings in their midst. The first indication that something is amiss in Hancock, Conn., comes when housewife Susan Henshaw happens upon a dying man with a knife stuck in his chest at the town library; a second corpse, that of a TV anchorman who worked with the first victim, is found in his yard shortly afterward. Amateur sleuth Susan, who's buddy-buddy with local cops, interrogates librarians who might provide clues, noses around crime scenes and plays host to the anchor's gorgeous, bereaved wife, an anchor herself. Early on, it seems that the widow is after Susan's husband; he dotes on her, and Susan pines for a handsome bachelor detective, but these tasty possibilities inexplicably evaporate, as if Wolzien changed her mind about her characters without bothering to revise her story accordingly. Any suspense generated by the murders dissolves in holiday gaiety; overall, unbelievable elements outweigh credible ones here.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.