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Detective Superintendent Frank Shapiro is back at work after having been shot and Detective Inspector Liz Graham is glad because she feels she isn't ready to move up in rank Her sergeant, Cal Donovan, however, has been ordered to remain on leave. Liz insists he take a vacation, so he unmoors his narrowboat and goes on a cruise of the local canal system, in the rain and cold of autumn. Donovan has an upper respiratory infection, and, in his usual way, just swigs proprietary cold medicine from the drug store, and tells Liz his itinerary in case she needs him. A container of yoghurt is found in Castlemere with a note on the bottom "This could have been botulism" but is really lime jello injected into the container. It's considered a prank, but when strawberry jello comes out of the showers in a girl's school, with a note saying "This could have been acid" the police become involved. As further pranks continue, even Brian Graham, Liz's husband who teaches art at the school, is considered a suspect. Meanwhile, Donovan, who has expected to cruise the canals, stopping at favorite pubs within a 20 mile radius of Castlemere, feels so sick that he pulls into a side canal and passes out. He briefly awakens to see a strange pixielike creature sitting on the steps to the saloon, but he is so feverish that he just passes out again. The next time he wakes, he is tucked up in bed in a farmhouse, in a village that seems to be a figment, like Brigadoon, but the reality is more sinister. Bannister weaves both stories into a coherent whole, all the while preparing us for more changes in the status quo. A new Bannister book is always a great treat. If you're not familiar with her books, either start at the beginning of this series or try one of her standalones. Editor's note: Not available in the US. Contact CrimeBks@aol.com or your favorite British or Canadian bookseller.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, June 2002
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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