When she returns to study the collection more carefully, Dido becomes acquainted with the household. Claire, her daughter, Georgina, and her granddaughter Gina, as well as a visiting American scholar, Jay Roslin, a noted authority on Orrin Forbes, are currently in residence in the Forbes mansion. Claire drops a hint to Dido that she may also offer her the works of her late husband, a separate collection from his personal library.

Dido spends the day cataloguing the books Forbes had collected throughout his lifetime and arranges to return with a van and the financing when Claire eagerly accepts her bid for the collection. Much as she would like to acquire Forbes works as well, Dido realizes that it is financially out of her reach.

Acquisition day arrives. After carefully packing the van, Dido is anxious to return home to her baby son only to discover that her car won’t start. She ends up spending the night, during which she is abruptly awakened by the smell of smoke. Claire had apparently been smoking in bed and had fallen asleep, setting the bed on fire. Attempts to rescue her fail. Since the death is sudden, the police are called in to investigate. They believe that her death may not have been accidental, and Dido becomes a prime suspect when part of a valuable Orrin Forbes manuscript is found locked in her car.

Author Marianne MacDonald succeeds admirably in describing the joys and difficulties of an antiquarian bookshop owner. Dealing in old books appears to be a lot like treasure hunting. “Half the time you find a pile of dusty paperbacks…. the other half is more or less worth the trouble.” It is also backbreaking work when confronted with the task of assessing a personal library. A keen business sense is a mandatory requirement. “People who sell private libraries often make the assumption the dealer… won’t mind if they extract a few books after getting their cheque.” Smoke Screen is amply sprinkled with such tidbits of insider knowledge.

While logically and carefully executed, the mystery element in Smoke Screen is not much of a challenge for the devoted mystery reader. The clues leading the reader to the perpetrator and the methods used are obvious. In several instances, the clues are mentioned more than once, demanding your attention -- had you been so dense as to miss them the first time.

At the opposite extreme, while doing research to try to extract herself from her current dilemma, Dido reads some information from the Internet. Although the reader can make a good guess what she has seen, the author does not share this information with the reader. However, to the author’s credit, the puzzle does fit together. The solution to the crime is entirely logical based on the fitting together of the appropriate clues.

The characters are interesting and likable, even the villain. They all have distinct personalities with some unique traits making them memorable enough to be easily recalled in a subsequent book. (This is the third in Ms. MacDonald’s series starring Dido Hoare)

I really enjoyed the introduction to the world of antiquarian book selling, although I’m not eager to begin a career in the field. It seems to require a business sense much more refined than mine to make a living, though if I were independently wealthy…

--Andy Plonka