Jo Bannister, Liars All

Liars All

Jo Bannister

Minotaur, Apr 2010, $25.95

ISBN 9780312612399

In South Downs, Bobby Carson purposely runs down Tom Sanger and Jane Moss; Tom dies and Jane is severely injured. Bobby stops not to see if the couple is okay, but instead he steals a black star sapphire necklace that Tom just gave to his fianc e.

Bobby pawns the necklace, but is caught soon afterward by law enforcement. Bobby's mother Margaret feels sad and melancholy as she had high hopes for her son; she hires Brodie Farrell of Looking for Something? to find the necklace and give it back to Jane.

This is a superb Brodie Farrell mystery (see Closer Still) as the two moms share a special camaraderie with Margaret knowing her offspring is a psychopath and Brodie's child Jonathan is very sick. Besides the moms and their sons, the support cast enhances this extremely emotional investigation especially Jane's friend and assistant Daniel Hood and Brodie's ex Detective Superintendent Jack Deacon. Fans of the excellent series will realize this is one of the best as readers will muse over the things we do for love.

Harriet Klausner