Dead Scared by S. J. Bolton

 

D.C. Lacey Flint has recently returned to work after a case that went awry and almost took her life.  But things never stand still in the police force.  Cambridge University has had a recent string of student suicides.  Almost all are women and almost all are suicides by violent means that women rarely use.  Although the victims almost all had psychological issues, the police are not convinced that the women were not bullied into their actions or maybe even lured into situations where someone else forced their deaths.

D.I. Mark Joesbury is in charge of the investigation.  He comes up with the idea of sending Lacey in as a new student who projects fragility and vulnerability.  Lacey is up for the assignment although she matches the profile all too well due to her recent disastrous assignment and her upbringing.  The plan seems to be working.  Almost as soon as she is installed in the university in the former room of the latest victim, things begin to happen.  She is targeted for a horrendous hazing incident where she is kidnapped, tied to a tree and drenched with ice cold water as other students watch.  She starts to hear noises at night and feels like she is being watched.  Can she and Joesbury uncover the plot before someone else dies?

S.J. Bolton who also writes as Sharon Bolton is one of my favorite mystery authors.  She is not as well known here in the United States as in her native England and that is a shame.  This novel is the second in the Lacey Flint series and she also writes standalones that are suspenseful and taut.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.