Death Walk // Murder in the Cotswolds — Erica Quest

There's been a killing in the Cotswolds... and for Kate Maddox, newly appointed (and first woman) Detective Chief Inspector, the meticulously executed hit-and-run on the quiet backroads of Chipping Bassett in turning out to be a killer of a first chase.

The victim is Belle Latimer, mistress of Hambledon Grange, and the suspects, Kate soon discovers, seem to be around every corner of this not-so-sleepy little English town. There's Mr. Latimer for a start, Belle's younger and considerably poorer husband, who, incidentally, is having an affair. Or perhaps George Prescott, a highly respected CPA -- had Belle discovered him juggling some books? Crazy Old Sam Wilkes had hated Belle's family for years. And there's always the Grange's surly caretaker, whose wife has a penchant for petty larceny.

But unfortunately, most of the clues are pointing to an attractive loyal publisher, Richard Gower - the one man Kate (for quite personal reasons) least wants to suspect. Then the apparent suicide (or is it?) of one of her prime suspects forces Kate to confront not only the prejudices of her male coworkers, but her own, which just might be blinding her to the truth about the killer's identity.