The button man A Hugo Marston novel

FBI profiler Hugo Marston has just quit the Bureau to become head of security at the American embassy in London, leaving his wife in Texas all of which occurred prior to the first Marston novel, The Bookseller (2012). Here he's asked to babysit Hollywood star Dayton Harper, who with his actress wife, Ginny Ferro left the scene of a hit-and-run accident at which a man died, leaving Brits up in arms about arrogant Americans. Ferro is found dead suicide or murder? and Harper eludes Marston, setting him on a chase joined by seemingly starstruck MP Graham Stopford-Pendrith. After a detour to a kinky club frequented by the stars, and with more deaths along the way, Marston zeros in on the killer and his motive, involving England's prohibition of capital punishment. This prequel, not labeled as such, may confuse fans of this fine espionage series, who expect Marston to be working in Paris, his base in the later (but already published) episodes. London is appropriately atmospheric for this episode, but Paris is preferred, by Marston and likely by his readers, too.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2014 Booklist

In Pryor's energetic fourth Hugo Marston novel (after The Blood Promise), Hollywood star Dayton Harper and his actress wife, Ginny Ferro, kill a farmer in a hit-and-run car accident while filming a movie in Hertfordshire. Days later, Ginny's body is discovered hanging from a tree in a London graveyard. When Hugo, the head of security for the American embassy in London, tries to take Dayton into protective custody, he flees the city. Two of Dayton's biggest fans, Graham Stopford-Pendrith, a member of the House of Lords, and Merlyn, a young female hotel worker, insist on joining Hugo in the search for the missing actor. Together, the unlikely trio gets on the trail of an unusual conspiracy. The central mystery is appealing enough to make up for some less than engaging subplots, such as Hugo's bungled attempt to infiltrate a BDSM leather party. Agent: Ann Collette, Rees Literary Agency. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.