Warning at One

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The tenants of Lois Meade's terrace house in Tresham are frustrated by their neighbor's feisty pet cockerel, Satan. His owner, Clem Fitch, refuses to part with his feathery companion-making Lois's tenants fly the coop. Luckily, her son Douglas agrees to rent the house.But when Clem and Satan are found dead, Douglas-who is involved with Clem's daughter-becomes a prime suspect in some foul business.From Publishers WeeklyIn British author Purser's sprightly eighth Lois Meade cozy (after 2007's Sorrow on Sunday), Lois, who operates a cleaning service called New Brooms, looks into the murder of 78-year-old Clement Fitch and his infamously loud rooster, Satan. Lois's son, Douglas, Clem's new neighbor in the town of Tresham, becomes a prime suspect after an anonymous informant claims to have seen Douglas knock the pensioner to the ground. Members of the Meade family, Lois's employees and Douglas's new girlfriend all seek to prove Douglas's innocence. To do so, they must unmask the true identities of Clem's neighbor across the street, Mrs. Imogen Blairgowrie, a supposedly visually impaired New Brooms client, whose slimy son, Alastair, might be involved with organized crime. Purser supplements the sleuthing with spot-on observations of working-class village life and the trials of running a small business, though a rushed resolution leaves some questions unanswered. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistPurser’s Lois Meade series has covered village crime from Monday through Sunday (e.g., Murder on Monday, 2002). Now, she is working through every hour of the day—a new wrinkle in our 24/7 world. Meade, proprietor of the New Brooms cleaning business, makes a handy police consultant, as cleaners know all about their clients’ dirt. This time that involves retiree Clem Fitch, who lives with his pet cockerel in the village of Tresham. The rooster enjoys waking all the neighbors at very early hours of the morning. Those neighbors include Lois’ son, Douglas, and a nearly blind older woman, whose irascible son hires Lois’ firm to  clean her mother’s home. When Clem and his pet are murdered, Lois assists her friend, Detective Inspector Hunter Cowgill, in solving the case. Purser uses dramatic irony effectively, letting the reader know more than her sleuths do and allowing us to watch as they pull the pieces together. This novel’s denouement doesn’t have quite the shock value typical of this series, but the story is thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. --Judy Coon