Town in a blueberry jam

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Susan Hill

From the outside, the cathedral town of Lafferton seems idyllic, but in many ways it is just like any other place. It suffers from the same kinds of crime, is subject to the same pressures from a rapidly changing world, and has the same hopes and fears as any number of towns up and down the land. When Simon Serrailler is called in by Lafferton's new Chief Constable, Kieran Bright, he is met by two plainclothes officers, who ask him to take the principal role in a difficult, potentially dangerous undercover operation. He must leave town immediately, without telling anyone--not even his girlfriend Rachel, who has only just moved in with him. Meanwhile, Simon's sister Cat is facing difficult choices at work, as Lafferton's hospice closes its bedded units--and at home, as her daughter is presented with a glittering opportunity that they would have to struggle to afford. And all is not well with Simon and Cat's stepmother, Judith, either. To complete his special operation, Simon must inhabit the mind of the worst kind of criminal. This takes its toll on Simon and--as the investigation unfolds--also on the town and some of its most respected citizens.

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Margaret Coel

After a candidate for governor is murdered, and his estranged wife is arrested for first-degree homicide, journalist Catherine McLeod must risk her career--and her life--to find the witness who can identify the candidate's murderer: Detective Ryan Beckman.

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P.D. Martin

"Just as Aussie FBI profiler Sophie Anderson is settling into her job in the L.A. bureau, she's pulled into a case that's different from anything she's ever seen--the victim has had his throat ripped out. But what weapon could have caused such devastating injuries? And who is the John Doe? Sophie and her team are dealing with a skilled killer, someone who leaves virtually no forensic evidence. When the team links the body to an Asian criminal organization, things get even more mysterious. The victim has been missing for fifteen years, so where has he been and why has he returned? More important, who wanted him dead? As L.A.'s underworld rears its ugly head, Sophie will have to draw on her experience and her developing psychic skills to find a brilliant killer who's carved a trail of death in organized crime across the U.S. He leaves only one thing behind him--horrifying murder scenes."--Page 4 of cover.

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Clea Simon

When Dulcie stumbles across the dead body of her rival Melinda Sloane Harquist, she has to work overtime to prove her innocence and salvage what's left of her academic career.