DEATH IN LOVER'S LANE
Journalism student Maggie Wheeler wants to make a name for herself as quickly as possible, so she decides to do a project on three unsolved crimes that have haunted the Thorndyke University campus. Professor Henrie O is not enamored of Maggie, nor of cheap journalistic tricks, but she allows Maggie to proceed. Within days of her assignment, she uncovers vital evidence.
Maggie's search unsettles someone connected with at least one of the crimes and this quickly brings Maggie to an untimely end. Devastated Henrie O feels that by approving the protect, she indirectly caused Maggie's death. Although an arrest is quickly made, Henrie O feels that the wrong person is being brought to justice and sets out to bring the real killer to light.
The plot device of a past murder impacting a present one is always sure to intrigue from the start. When a gifted author like Carolyn Hart uses it, the result is pretty spectacular. DEATH IN LOVER'S LANE is marvelous storytelling, one that wrings all sorts of emotions. The stories of the three crimes in the past and the one in the present are neatly intertwined. Hart is an expert on human nature, and as such, the motives for the crimes are quite believable. If you are only familiar with Ms. Hart's popular Death on Demand series, you are in for a real treat when you discover just how versatile this gifted writer is. (Feb., 288 pp., $20.00)