Also in Gallagher is new university police chief, John Quinn, whom Lizzie met while in England. The two are skittish about any relationship they may have, possibly because of the circumstances under which they met (Lizzie helped solve a murder while the two were in Cornwall). Now Lizzie finds the body of a colleague, Richard Colby, a man who was pompous enough to irritate many people and who thought himself to be enough of a ladies' man to destroy his marriage.

Some people consider Lizzie a murder suspect, others a home-wrecker, some as an affirmative action professor and someone else as a threat. Treading carefully around Quinn, Lizzie waivers between the past and the present, convinced that these two murders must somehow be connected and tries to figure it out before the person who knows finds her. A Dead Man's Honor is a very complex mystery with an intriguing premise that never quite lives up to itself with too many loose ends. In the beginning, Lizzie is certain she has seen the ghost of a man involved in the 1921 incident, and when she meets up with her ghost, the explanation is obvious, but his presence does little to move the plot along, though something he says is mentioned in passing later on.

There are many women who lash out in jealous rages, yet none of the women is developed enough to understand why, and few satisfactory explanations are offered, and when they do, they do not seem to fit into the plot.

There are several attempts at red herrings, though none is especially believable. When the culprit is revealed, readers who enjoy solving mysteries ahead of the main character may feel cheated, as there were few clues along the way to lead them there. There is also one last incident that doesn't seem to fit at all and is never explained. The history is interesting as is Frankie Bailey's ability to connect it so many present events, but the one-dimensional characters and an unsettled relationship between Quinn and Lizzie lead to many awkward moments.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry