Death in a Beach Chair

DOUBLE THE LOVE, DOUBLE THE DEATH

Susan Henshaw and her husband, Jeb, are the proud grandparents of beautiful twins, and their daughter and son-in-law are temporarily moving into the Henshaws' Connecticut home with their tiny bundles of joy. Added to the mix are two giant bullmastiffs and a nanny. Though a bit overwhelmed, Susan and Jeb are delighted to be a part of the chaos.

But a neighbor, Nadine Baines, soon starts to rain on their parade. She recognizes the nanny as a suspect in several recent shady deaths at a nursing home. The day after this troubling revelation, Nadine is found in her kitchen with a knife protruding from her chest. Is the nanny the culprit? Are Susan's grandchildren at risk? With murder so close to home and another possibly following, Susan must investigate-and she uncovers a tangled conspiracy beyond her wildest imagination.

Just about a decade ago, Valerie Wolzien, who was then a housewife, began composing her first mystery novel on a warped old card table in her basement. All her subsequent whodunits pay implicit tribute to that hard-won apprenticeship: Each of them has the conciseness and seamlessness that only revision can bring. In this engaging home construction drama which has all the excitement of a slippery roof, contractor Josie finds herself twice famous and once accused. After a PBS remodeling series invades her site, Ms. Pigeon fights back intrusive media people. But when the hostess of the show turns up as a bloody corpse, Josie's curses turn into pleas. Straight-edge sleuthing.