Retired police detective Rick Chasen, known to his friends as Chase, is on a walking tour in England; his partner Doug had died a year or so earlier and Chase is still grieving, but he thinks a change of scenery will do him good. Unfortunately for him, the tour that he is on with a group called The Wanderers includes a very obnoxious man, Ron Gretz, who is both imperious and demanding, and who is also certain that someone is out to get him. Gretz asks Chase to keep an eye out for him, but for all of Chase’s good intentions he is unable to prevent, first, a series of strange accidents that occur to Gretz on the walking trail and, eventually, his death in a fall from a steep cliff. While Detective Chief Inspector Kilbride is inclined to zero in on Summer, Gretz’s ditzy young trophy wife, Chase is more uncertain; after all, it seems that several members of the walking group have ties to Gretz and it is certain that a number of them are lying to the police….I believe that this is being billed as the first in a new cozy series, which I hope is the case because it’s quite a fun little book. I like that Chase’s sexuality as a gay man is clear from the start and is *not* particularly referred to as the defining characteristic, unlike portrayals of gays and lesbians in past decades, and he is an endearing character, if a little too inclined to beat up on himself all the time. The secondary characters are cliched to some extent, but not annoyingly so, and the premise of a murder on a walking tour is ripe for setting any number of tales. I did find a few things a bit amateurish: the victim is so thoroughly unlikable as to be a caricature rather than a character, and the investigating English inspector is a tad too simple for my tastes (and really, does anybody ever actually say “toodle pip” anywhere in England?); but overall I enjoyed this light story, found it a quick read and would look forward to seeing more of Chase and, perhaps, a new love interest; recommended. ( )

This charming mystery set in the English countryside is a classic who-dun-it with an abundance of suspects. A group of Americans are participating in a walking tour in Devon. A wealthy yet constantly complaining walker plunges over a cliff in the fog.
The narrator is retired Detective Rick Chasen from San Diego who works with the local police to solve the mystery. Fun adventure. ( )