Last Seen Alive — Dorothy Simpson

Winner of the CWA Silver Dagger: A troubled woman returns to her peaceful English village after twenty years -- and is murdered within twenty-four hours.

When Det. Inspector Luke Thanet was a young man, Alicia Parnell was one of the most popular girls in Sturrenden: beautiful, charming, and brilliant. But her perfect life was shattered when her teenage boyfriend killed himself. Alicia's family left town soon after, and Thanet never expected to see her again. But two decades later, Alicia comes home to start her life over in the country village where she was born. No one knows what drew her back, and no one has a chance to ask -- because less than a day after her return, Alicia is murdered.
 
Her body is found in the Black Swan hotel, and all signs point to strangulation. Inspector Thanet is shocked by the death of someone he knew, and to find Alicia's killer, he'll have to dig deep into their shared past. Someone in Sturrenden has a secret, and Thanet must uncover it before the killer strikes again.
 
The winner of the CWA Silver Dagger, Britain's top prize for crime fiction, Last Seen Alive is a compelling puzzle from a “dependably pleasing” author (The Boston Globe).
 
Last Seen Alive is the 5th book in the Inspector Thanet Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.