Publisher's Weekly
This tidy English procedural, part of a series by former detective superintendent Ross, captures the flavor of a small British city, including police life and politics. When a classified ad is sent to the Abbotsburn newspaper seeking information on the whereabouts of Daphne Gosse and intimating foul play, the editor calls detective superintendent George Rogers ( A Time for Dying ), who takes on a quiet investigation. Daphne's husband, Clifford, a pharmacist, denies placing the ad, although it bears his name, and he ultimately confesses his wife has left him for another, unidentified man. As Rogers pursues various leads to the woman's whereabouts, tackling the law firm through which she was filing for divorce, he must steer a fine line between harassment (as charged by the solicitor and the husband) and fear of the consequences should Daphne have suffered misadventure. Rogers delicately pumps Liz Gallagher, a reporter with whom he has hopes for dalliance, while suffering smoker's and drinker's withdrawal pangs on doctor's orders after a bout with bronchitis. Though at times slow and one-dimensional, Ross's mystery has its intriguing moments.