The Prodigal Son: A Carmine Delmonico Novel (Carmine Delmonico Novels)
In the fourth entry in McCullough’s Carmen Delmonico series, set in the 1960s university town of Holloman, Connecticut, a deadly toxin extracted from blowfish is stolen from the lab of biochemist Millie Hunter. Then John Hall, long-lost son of university-press printer Max Turnbull and an old friend of Millie and her biochemist husband, Jim Hunter, is poisoned at a small dinner party. A day later, new university head scholar Thomas Tinkerman, a religious zealot who opposes the publication of Jim Hunter’s potentially best-selling book, joins the victim list. Two more murders follow, and while police captain Delmonico and his detectives suspect Jim—a black man renowned in his field who has struggled with his interracial marriage to Millie, his soul mate since they met at the age of 15—there is not enough evidence to charge him. In her enthusiastic style (studded with exclamation points!), McCullough delves into small-town intrigue with well-defined characters and vivid descriptions, from food to fashion. Short on suspense but entertaining nonetheless. --Michele Leber