SMOKE ALARM

Starting with a tragic real-life incident in the 1960s, Patricia Gallimore narrates this complex procedural with skill and compassion. When three family members perish in a house fire that looks like arson, Coroner Martha Gunn and her staff are at a loss to find a motive. Gallimore's portrayal of Gunn is ideal; she's warm, humane, and smart. Also rendered realistically are Gunn's home life and twin children, and most winning is her relationship--perhaps romance--with mysterious Detective Inspector Alex Randall. Police finally begin to crack the case when the investigation leads them to a mental hospital where 26 women were killed in a fire. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2015]