I looked for a better cover for The Superintendent's Daughter, but couldn't find one. This one has little to do with the content. I have not read any other books in this series, although I read and enjoyed another book by Eccles several years ago.

Registering under the name of Julia Mayo, Kat checks into a country house hotel where she is murdered in short order. When her body is found, Superintendent Gil Mayo is notified and arrives horrified at the idea. His fears are dispelled when he discovers that the body is not that of his daughter, but sadly, that of Julia's best friend.

Mayo is excluded from the investigation because he is too close to the situation, but since he is unable to locate his daughter, he proceeds on a separate and parallel search to locate Julia.

The novel begins with a letter from Kat to Julia--and is quite slow. The information in the letter(s) provides information that will be useful later, but does not intrigue as it was intended. Nevertheless, the plot does pick up, and Eccles deftly introduces the characters who could be guilty of Kat's murder.

Sometimes having a number of suspects feels contrived, but the way the suspects are introduced makes each one a genuine possibility, and I suspected each one without ever being confident.

Initially, I was not even certain whether Kat or Julia was the intended victim.

Recently republished.

Blog review scheduled for Jan. 26, 2017

NetGalley/Endeavor Press

Crime/Police Procedural. 1999. Jan. 13, 2017. Print length: 248 pages.

A slow start to this book and jumping back and forward in time. It was well written but did not grip me from the start. Superintendent Mayo is looking for his missing daughter and her best friend is found murdered. I was almost halfway through before I started to enjoy this book. Good characterisation and would make a good read for holidays. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads and Amazon.