This is a really interesting first book in a cozy mystery series. The main character was abandoned at a Home for Children when he was a small child, with severe burns on his ear and head. He knows nothing about his past. The people at the Home named him. He was caught stealing as a kid, and the man who caught him took him in, taught him about antiques, sent him to college, and turned his life around. Jason is now a successful interior designer who specializes in antiques.

Jason was married. He and his wife had a child. Then, about eight years ago, her car was found wrecked, with the baby inside. His wife has never been found, and the baby suffered brain damage and has been in an institution ever since. Jason has a lot going on inside, and when his neighbors are murdered and the murders seem connected to the disappearance of his wife, trauma is stirred up.

A Little Neighborhood Murder reminded me of the Gabriel Ash series by Jo Bannister. The main character is someone just trying to hold on while dealing with trauma and mental health issues. I'm looking forward to moving on to book 2.

[1997]. This author also writes science fiction. This one is a first-in-series with the detective as an antiques dealer who was an orphan raised in a foster home, and is haunted by his own ghosts. I liked him—Jason Lynx—and I liked how he dealt with his life, neighbors, and work while trying to figure out the murder of his next-door neighbors—which in turn proves to involve the tragic disappearance of his wife years ago. Good.

[2020]. I’ve re-read this book and the series several times at least since I wrote this review, and I stick by the rating.