Resort to Murder

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY APR 1, 2001

In this highly entertaining puzzle (after 1999's Death on the River Walk), 70-ish sleuth Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins (aka Henrie O) is in a somber, reflective mode, as befits her age and her life experiences. Recovering from pneumonia, Henrie O isn't sure she feels up to the task of dealing with the emotional maelstrom stewing around the Bermuda wedding of her son-in-law, Lloyd Drake, and beautiful Connor Bailey, a wealthy widow. A granddaughter, unhappy about her father's marriage, is bent on making mischief, while the bride-to-be can't seem to stop herself from attracting the attentions of any male within eyeshot. Lloyd doesn't cope well with his fianc e's penchant for flirtation, and Connor's lawyer, Steve Jennings, appears to have more than Connor's financial interests at heart. The hotel where the party has gathered witnessed tragedy the year before, when Roddy Worrell, the manager's husband, plunged to his death from a tower. According to rumor, Roddy had been infatuated with Connor, who spurned his advances. When a ghost is sighted at the tower, word spreads that Roddy has come back to haunt Connor. The subsequent death of a hotel employee who knew more than he should about the apparition puts Henrie O on the murder scent once again. This series has a deeper and darker emotional texture than Hart's more lively and lighthearted Death on Demand series, but her fans will enjoy the complex plot, local color and vivid characters.