Lee Martin: The Mensa Murders (USA 1993)

From the Publisher:
DEAD BODIES LEAVE NO TRAILS...
Three women are murdered-in identical and very unusual ways. The killer is solicitous -- first breaking their necks, then tucking them neatly into bed before cleaning the house and tending to the pets.

With no trail to follow-since the killer insists on straightening up the mess-Fort Worth Detective Deb Ralston looks beyond the scrubbed floors to discover the victims were all members of Mensa, an organization for the superintelligent. Deb quickly discovers that the group's members are not all as sane as they are smart.

It's certainly unsettling -- because it looks as though a killer with a dirt fetish may just decide to clean Deb Ralston's house next!

"A believable sleuth in a superior series. -- Booklist
"Martin's fiction smacks of reality." -- Houston Post
"Deb Ralston is a compassionate, no-nonsense cop." -- Chicago Sun-Times
"Martin's knowledge of police procedure makes this a satisfying, diverting read." -- Publishers Weekly

Lee Martin: The Mensa Murders. A Deb Ralston Mystery. Wordlwide Library, ISBN: 0373261152 (March, 1993), 250 p., $3.99.

Lee Martin: The Mensa Murders (USA 1990)

From the Publisher:
For once a sudden death doesn't seem to be a police matter: A middle-aged Fort Worth city employee with a serious heart condition has apparently died in her own bed of natural causes. But something about the scoured bathroom floors, hospital-cornered bed, and lack of dirty laundry bothers police detective Deb Ralston: It's too neat. When two similar murders follow, Deb finds herself on the baffling trail of a murderer who leaves no trail -- because he or she always cleans up afterward.

Deb looks beyond the scrubbed surfaces and discovers some curious connections: All three victims belonged to the church of Sister Eagle Feather (not her real name), and all three were also members of Mensa, the society for people who score in the top two percent on intelligence tests.

As a result, the three murdered women had many acquaintances in common, from Sister Eagle Feather to a couple of psychiatrists to fellow members of Mensa -- not all of whom are as sane as they are smart.

Perhaps, though, the killer was after one woman in particular and set up the other murders to make them look like serial killings. In any event, there must be someone out there who is obsessed with cleaning up after the crime -- and who just may be planning to come clean Deb's house next.

Lee Martin: The Mensa Murders. A Deb Ralston Mystery. St. Martin's Press, ISBN: 0312051263 (December, 1990), 170 p., $15.95.