THE ANODYNE NECKLAC

The third outing for that odd-couple sleuthing team: handsome, sensitive Supt. Richard Jury and his aristocratic, unofficial aide Melrose Plant (under-utilized this time). What's the connection between the brutal London-tube-station mugging of young day-tripper Katie O'Brien (from Littlebourne village) and the Littlebourne murder of London typist Cora Binns? That's the nicely complex puzzle here. And the investigation brings other curious questions to the fore. Where is the emerald necklace stolen from the late Lord Kennington? What secret is being guarded by Emily Park, age ten going on 50, who cares for Sir Miles Bodenheim's horses? And what's going on in the dingy neighborhood of Wembly Knotts, where the habitues of the Anodyne Necklace pub play an endless game of Wizards and Warlords? Jury gets to the surprising solution, of course, meeting some endearingly flaky folks along the way. And the result, like The Old Fox Deceiv'd (1982), is great fun in full harmony with first-rate deduction—as Grimes threatens to become the first US-born-and-bred master in the Christie/Marsh/Sayers tradition.