Stealth (Ingrid Langley and Patrick Gillard Mysteries)
The husband-and-wife team of former MI5 operative Patrick Gillard and crime novelist Ingrid Langley—they work as consultants for SOCA, the Serious Organized Crime Agency—return in this tenth installment in the series. When another novelist, Clement Hamlyn, is suspected of using an international writers’ conference as cover for some nefarious goings-on, SOCA sends the pair to Cannes, where they will pose as conference-goers and try to find out what Hamlyn is up to. But when the tipster who alerted authorities to Hamlyn turns up dead, what seems like a simple observe-and-report assignment turns into something rather more life-threatening. Langley is a likable and intelligent narrator, and, as always, the story nicely balances crime and character. There are violent aspects to the story, but the violence mostly occurs off the page, leaving the focus on the narrative. Another solid series entry. --David Pitt