From Patricia

Howell, Lis. The Chorister at the Abbey (Soho, $25) June. Suzy Spencer, single parent with tv career, and Robert Clark, widower, first met in The Flower Arranger at All Saints, now share his house in Norbridge. Puzzling out who's who during the long setup rewards a reader as the people on this chessboard manuever for their own advantage after the pompous local historian who ran the village shop is murdered. Alexandra, the drab accountant with a secret, and Tom, university student with musical aspirations, both notice the book of psalms the corpse holds. The villagers treat the crime as an inconvenience in the way of solving their own problems during the soggy, dreary winter from Christmas until Easter. The obligatory drinks parties with Marks and Spencer party food ebb and flow with underlying currents as the residents discuss the odd "accidents" happening at the derelict convent. Conflict between the rector offering a traditional faith experience with choir and the upbeat Rev Paul whose youth fellowship swings to a rock band makes the second of the Norbridge Chronicles as compelling as the first.

Toussaint, Maggie. In for a Penny (Five Star, Gale, $26) June 18. Cleo Jones joins the ladies golf league in her small Maryland town because whacking balls releases the anger she carries for her ex-husband until she and her best friend find their banker dead behind the sixth green. The list of people he wronged would stretch past the clubhouse. A detective who has known Cleo like an uncle since childhood suspects the friend of murder but Cleo's own issues come first. Her mother has a health crisis anytime Cleo takes steps to move herself and her two daughters out of the house. But the same mother puts tuna fish and pickle relish in the lasagna. Cleo daydreams about the sexy golf pro but can't entertain him in her bed containing a St. Bernard she is dogsitting. If she can identify the killer, the rest of her life might improve. Non-series romantic suspense: House of Lies and No Second Chance.