Jennie Melville's uneasy blend of Home Counties cosiness and sardonic Grand Guignol finds its natural suspect in Dead Again. A famous child murderess is about to be released into the discreet small town where senior policewoman Charmian tries to keep everything under control and it is inevitable that there are going to be problems. Several of the local criminals--notably Charmian's larcenous hairdresser Baby--have less than fond memories of Joan Dingham from jail. Even before Joan is on the streets, someone is killing young girls and leaving precisely those clues she was fondest of; and it becomes clear to Charmian that no one and nothing are entirely what they seem... This is a surprising small book which manages to say some interesting things about crime and punishment and class while playing delicately amusing games with reader expectations. Charmian is one of those detectives who wanders around doing legwork and waiting for things to become clear rather than being a superhuman sleuth--and the wry humour of the author's tone makes this human and attractive. --Roz Kaveney