This book was nominated for an Edgar in 2015 and is the last book in The Belfast Novels series.  Although I did not like it quite as much as THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST, which I reviewed in May, it is still a very fine book, and somewhat less violent than the earlier one.

When Rea Carlisle inherits a house from her uncle, she is horrified to come across a book which appears to describe in detail a series of thrill killings.  Rea’s father, a Belfast politician, wants her to keep quiet about the book because it might hurt his reputation. But Rea turns to Jack Lennon, a disgraced police inspector, and he soon finds that everything is not as it seems.  As he works the case, he gradually finds that he is working out his own redemption.  This is a fitting conclusion to a very good series.

This is a book in the Kate Burkholder series.  She is the chief of police in Painters Mills, and a former member of its large Amish community.  This is a story of revenge.  A crime many years ago destroyed an Amish family, and now someone is systematically killing those involved in the crime.  It is Burkholder’s job to find, now that the whole family is dead, who could still be seeking vengeance.

In  parallel subplot, Burkholder’s boyfriend, State Agent John Tomasetti, is continuing his vendetta against the men who murdered his family.  The thoughtful reader may be left wondering whether taking the law into your own hands is acceptable for a policeman but not for a civilian.

Overall, this is a suspenseful, well-plotted book that will keep most readers wondering until near the end.  Burkholder is a convincing police officer, and the book is a good read.

This is the twenty-fifth Agatha Raisin mystery.  For those of you not aware of this popular sleuth, she is a middle-aged former advertising executive who retired to the Cotswolds where, mostly out of boredom, she set up a detective agency.  Although these cozy mysteries are largely plot driven, Agatha’s personality can alternatively amaze and annoy. Her ability to figure out the twists and turns in a crime is occasionally surprising, while her almost pathetic search for a husband and her ability to blunder into danger can sometimes prove a bit tiresome.

I enjoy mysteries that have a genuine puzzle at the center.  Too many novels today focus too much on the eccentricities and miseries of the detective and too little on the solving of the crime.  Beaton never lets this happen.  She keeps things moving along at a spritely pace and easily bring the reader along with her.  A word of warning: these books can be addictive, and you may find it impossible to read just one.