Arts Week

Housesitting Mystery Perfect Beach Reading

61W5u73ymLL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_It’s an interesting way to spend one’s retirement, but Truxton (“My parents named me after a highway sign”) Lewis, a retired NYPD detective captain, is able to spend his time traveling by … housesitting. He gets to stay places for free, and homeowners are thrilled for have a former cop in their houses; not a bad idea all round.

Tru is housesitting in rural Kentucky and is learning something new: Max Beasley is teaching him the almost-lost art of dry stone walls (rock walls that hold together without mortar). Which is fine until Tru arrives at the job site to find that the wall’s knocked down—and Max has disappeared.

Well, he hasn’t disappeared, exactly: he’s in jail. For murder. A greedy developer whose offers Max had been refusing (even when they involved threats and more) is dead, crushed beneath the dry wall.

Tru, of course, is immediately on the case, determined to prove Max innocent. This is the beginning of a new series and if subsequent books assemble the same witty dialogue, oddly satisfying characters, and final unexpected twist, they are bound to be successful.

Take it to the beach this summer, and enjoy!