George Kimbrough calls the Harton police to report that his wife Grace is missing. Based on his immediate dislike of the officious George, Tom hopes that Grace has left him, but none of her suitcases is missing. The Kimbroughs live next door to George’s cousin Carolyn Stanley and her husband Bill. Carolyn and George operate an interior decorating business together. Tom hopes that Carolyn can give him information about Grace’s movements, but Carolyn has flown to San Francisco. Repeated efforts to track her down are futile.

Elizabeth Robinson, nicknamed Tita and ten years old, wants to be another Nancy Drew, but she is ill and confined to the house. At her mother’s suggestion, Tita begins a log of her observations of the neighborhood from windows in her house. What she sees prompts her father to contact the police. Initially, his report is not taken seriously, but Tom realizes that the Robinsons live directly behind the Stanleys. Since he is unused to questioning children, he enlists Kathryn’s help in talking with the girl - which has the additional advantage of being an excuse to spending time with her. What they learn from Tita will lead them to believe that this is more than a missing person’s case - it is murder.

Crooked Heart, a cross between a police procedural and a cozy mystery, has the signs of the first in a series featuring Tom Holder and Kathryn Koerney. More attention is paid to establishing the setting, the characters and their relationship than might be the case in a single title mystery.

Tom and Kathryn are appealing characters, and some of the most enjoyable scenes have nothing to do with the mystery. In her zeal to solve one part of the mystery, Kathryn does behave in a manner that seems foolish and potentially dangerous. Since prior to this Kathryn had seemed sensible and not prone to impetuous action, this spur-of-the-moment behavior seemed somewhat out of character. Tita is an unusually charming juvenile character. She plays a pivotal role in assisting the police investigation, but she’s more than a mere placeholder in the story.

The primary murder mystery evolves into several sub-mysteries with unexpected twists and turns, but some astute readers may solve them before the end of the book. Clues are sprinkled throughout the story so the solution doesn’t come out of left field.

A major feature of cozy mysteries is the relative lack of violence. Crooked Heart begins with a graphic description of the murder scene, but the violence is past so an NV rating seems more appropriate than a V.

The dust cover calls this a divine mystery. It may be a stretch to describe this as ‘divine,’ but if this is to be the first in a new series, Crooked Heart is a promising debut. Tom Holder and Kathryn Koerney are worthy of a second book.

--Lesley Dunlap