The Breaker by Minette Walters

 

When two young brothers discover the nude body of a woman washed up on the shore, it is shocking. It was even more shocking when Kate Sumner's three year old daughter was found wandering the streets by herself twenty miles away.  Who killed Kate and left her child to wander alone?  DCI Gilbraith and DC Ingram start the investigation.

There are two main suspects.  The husband had come to marriage late but was swept off his feet when he met Kate at their work.  He did whatever she wanted, moving to a seaside town that gave him a time consuming commute and let her buy whatever caught her fancy.  When it was discovered that their daughter, Hannah, was not the husband's biological child but the result of an affair by Kate, suspicions rose higher.  

The other suspect was the man who was on the scene the day of the discovery right after the boys who discovered the body.  Steven Harding was a young man, an actor who loved sailing and was often in the area on weekends with his boat.  He lied to the police about knowing Kate and it soon became apparent that the rumors were that he was having an affair with her.  Others claimed he despised her.  Either way, he might have had a motive.  But which man was it?

This is an interesting mystery by Minette Walters.  I've loved all her mysteries although she seems to have moved on to the historical genre lately.  This novel was more of a police procedural than some of her other mysteries which depend on psychological suspense and outré motives.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.