EVIL FOR EVIL

Murder comes to upstate New York’s peaceful Chautauqua Institution in Pines’ mystery novel.

Mimi Goldman, Chautauquan Dailyreporter and celebrated local amateur sleuth, helps the Chautauqua classic book club host, Harriet Diner, clean up after a lively meeting. At Harriet’s request, Mimi goes upstairs to speak with the young, beautiful Emmy Diner, the recently widowed wife of Harriet’s elder son, Roger. Much to her horror, Mimi discovers Emmy lying on her bed—dead. Mimi notices a small spot of blood on Emmy’s arm, raising the possibility of murder: It’s time for the author’s dynamic duo—60-something Mimi and her 90-year-old sidekick, Sylvia Pritchard—to don their detective caps. Before her death, Emmy hosted a popular podcast, Murders in Our Backyard, in which she hunted down clues to cold cases, with special focus on the 1996 disappearance of Jenny Esposito, a young college student who went missing after a dorm party. Is the guilty party trying to sabotage Emmy’s Esposito investigation? Or is there another secret someone is protecting? As it turns out, almost everybody involved is hiding something, and there are plenty of potential suspects for readers to ponder. This is Pines’ 10th volume in her Chautauqua Mystery series, and she expertly sets the contrast between the Institution’s serene, artistic, and intellectual aura against the brutality of murder, displaying a well-honed ironic touch. Although the investigation unfolds at a leisurely pace, without much tension, the plotline is intriguing, with enough twists (including a final big surprise) to keep things moving. The author captures enough of the everyday Chautauqua atmosphere, with detours through the lectures, concerts, and religious gatherings to make even newcomers to the series feel right at home at the retreat (“Around Mimi, some kids were enjoying ice cream cones. Others were chasing each other around the main fountain’s rim or splashing in the water spraying into its basin from the mouths of ceramic fish”). Sharply limned dialogue continues to build the series’ well-developed characters—plus, there are those reliably delicious cocktails whipped up by Mimi’s husband, Walt.

Another enjoyable beach read from an author who knows her turf.