DEATH UNDER A LITTLE SKY

A former London police detective who's fled his life and failed marriage by moving to his wealthy late uncle's house in the English countryside investigates a cold case no one wants to talk about.

Jake Jackson is so eager to drop out of society at age 38 that he retires his cell phone; embraces his new home's lack of internet connection, radio, and phone line; and, in the odd absence of a bath, shower, or washing machine, bathes and cleans his clothes in a lake. The nearest town isn't close. He spends time reading mystery novels from his uncle's vast library, naming local landmarks after crime lit favorites: Spenser Brook, Chandler Lake, Agatha Wood, etc. But when the bones of Sabine Rohmer, who died 10 years ago on a nearby farm in an apparent accident, are discovered in a bag in the town's annual St. Aethelmere’s Day treasure hunt, he collaborates with the police in trying to determine who removed them from her grave—and replaced them with someone else's remains. In the process he gets himself and local veterinarian Livia Bennett, his new friend and potential love interest, threatened by bullies, including Sabine's onetime lover. Are the brutes trying to cover up what was in fact a murder? This cozy-ish novel, British media personality Abell’s first, boasts a familiar but niftily handled plot enhanced by poetic descriptions of the surroundings. Though Jake comes across as a nervous amateur detective rather than someone with actual police experience (in a tense moment, he envisions what Jack Reacher would do), he is an engaging narrator. And though his and Livia's lust for each other is teased to an extreme, their scenes together are consistently enjoyable in an adult way. One looks forward to the sequel that’s been announced.

A congenial mystery with a fresh approach.