Close Call

There's nothing like a murder to shake up a quiet neighborhood in this "British procedural that delivers what fans of the genre want" ( Booklist).   Gurney Close, a recently-built development in Gloucestershire, includes three charming houses and bungalows overlooking the river Wye. Moving into these new homes are three married couples and a divorcee, all of whom are eager to get acquainted through a little block party. But the next morning, one of the new neighbors—affable, ordinary Robin Durkin—is found brutally murdered. Apart from his devastated wife, he was surrounded by perfect strangers. Or was he? As Superintendent John Lambert and Detective Sergeant Bert Hook investigate, they discover that each neighbor had ties with the victim. And they're far from perfect. Including Durkin himself.   Unearthing Durkin's past exposes a dirty little enclave of blackmail, vengeance, and adultery. But who, among these seemingly friendly faces, knew Durkin's darkest secret—and was driven to murder him to keep it hidden?