The Long Search

by Isabelle Holland

Amateur sleuth the Reverend Claire Aldington investigates the murder of college professor Paul Davenport, a crime in which the prime suspect is Davenport's live-in roommate, Janet Covington, a woman hiding terrifying secrets from her past

Genres: Mystery

Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1990

About the author

Isabelle Christian Holland (born June 16, 1920 in Basel, Switzerland — died February 9, 2002) was an author of children and adult fiction. Her father was the American Consul in Liverpool, England during WWII. She moved to America in 1940 due to the war. She wrote Gothic novels, adult mysteries, romantic thrillers, and many books for children and young adults. She wrote over 50 books in her lifetime, and was still working at the time of her death at age 81 in New York City.

Two of her novels have been made into movies:

Bump in the Night, 1991,
The Man Without a Face, 1993

Both of these novels deal with issues or allegations of pedophilia.

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much, especially things that appear near the end so I won't put them as spoilers, and of course others might not enjoy them as I did. I had no idea until I read the Goodreads review that a very tangential character was supposed to be the continuing one in a series, not just occasional support. She is also credited in the review with solving the mystery, for which I remember no evidence.
It was interesting in a book 25 years old to still have tethered phones, available phone booths you entered, airports without security checks, and the ability to pay for things in cash. But this did not get in the way of the plot, which hooked me into reading a couple hours past my usual bedtime.

[Debi Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

An editor, former 60's radical, searches for a baby she had 18 years ago.
Meets new friends.
Life in danger.
Who killed her boyfriend?
Pretty good.