The Comstock Museum in California has acquired an extensive collection - but security has not kept pace. Now they need to call in an expert to stem the tide of theft. Kim Revis is just the security expert they need. Already planning to visit the area to clear and sell her grandmother's house, now that lady has moved to assisted living, Kim is keen to take the job. Her family donated a large part of the collection.

MEMORY LANE is set in the town of Camp Oro, with a volunteer mayor and two police officers, who are unprepared for a vast hole to gape open in the middle of the main street. Kim hears that there is no money to repair the problem. Mark Stockton, her grandmother's lawyer, is also retained by the town. He explains that during the Depression, many people dug secretly for gold and their tunnels now cave in from time to time. Kim's expertise is in the realms of electromagnetic locks and sensors, not detective work, but the museum badly needs both skills. The local police believe the thefts are an inside job - and the personality clashes inside the museum don't make Kim's work easy.

Mark is keeping a secret from Kim, which heightens tension, and the museum board constantly snipe at one another; revisiting home turf draws Kim back into the community and provides so many personalities and names that it can be hard to assimilate them all. The story revolves around character and atmosphere, so while it is slow to get under way, suspicions build and we start to pick our own suspects. Kim and Mark feel an attraction, but professionalism keeps them apart. Chills grip us when Kim climbs down into the hole and follows the tunnels alone, and a skeleton is found. I did wonder why Kim didn't stay in the museum overnight from the start, as that was when thefts were occurring. I also thought it was obvious how the goods were being stolen.

MEMORY LANE was originally written in 1990, which is why everyone leaves phone messages and handwritten notes for everyone else, instead of using mobiles and e-mails. It's amazing how much has changed. But some things don't change - local, personal politics, greed, and the urges of the heart. Vella Munn is a pen name for Vonna Harper and this finely-wrought light mystery does her credit. Fans of intelligent romance will enjoy the read.