The ANNIVERSARY KILLER has struck at Forest Lake, in Westerville, Ohio, where the wealthy prefer to live. The security measures didn't stop one man being murdered a year ago, and now his business partner, Mickey Callahan, has been abducted - but found alive - and his house burnt down. Allie and a journalist pal Sandy stand watching the blaze and a neighbour wonders if Mickey's Irish Setter dog had been found. Nobody knows. Allie is a fierce animal lover and she decides to follow this track, while Sandy promises to get her childcare expenses covered by their paper. And we're off.

Allie seems to be addicted to lying and falsely representing herself on the phone and in person. People believe her to be an insurance agent or dog care worker, telling her anything she wants to know, and she keeps a stash of false IDs. She doesn't always get it right, as when she goes to investigate someone on a racetrack while wearing white shoes and smart clothes, attracting instant mirth. Business debt and insurance fraud may be the motives. The fact that a homeless man was found dead too, just exacerbates the problem of pinning the crimes on Mickey Callahan. If he's guilty. Sniffing around a stable too many gets Allie into serious danger.

The constant child-minding scenes will be familiar to many parents but is an unusual interjection in what would otherwise resemble a Sue Grafton thriller. Allie's relationship is not going well but her partner Rae Ann is still there to support her through a family tragedy. I was pleased to see greater depth to the characters in this third book, while the contrasts - bar, bookies and kiddie park - keep the reader off-balance and striving to find some consistent resolution.

Alexandra Allred has returned to her theme of women at work in what might be a male- dominated world, revealing by turns the generosity of strangers and the malice of close friends. ANNIVERSARY KILLER is a worthy addition to this character-filled series portraying the modern struggle for identity.

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