DEATH BENEFITS

Chicago attorney Rachel Gold (The Canaan Legacy, 1988—not reviewed) is sent to St. Louis, her old hometown, to see whether she can prove that Stoddard Anderson, managing partner of the local office of pedigreed law firm Abbott & Windsor, was insane when he killed himself—thus providing a bigger payoff for his widow Dottie, who needs every penny. The background questions about Anderson—for instance, why did he quadruple his accident insurance only a few months before he died, and what was he doing for the three days between disappearing from home and slitting his wrists in an airport hotel?—fade when Rachel learns from gallery owner Remy Panzer that Anderson had promised to help smuggle a jewelled golden cast of Montezuma's penis into the country. Aided by the likes of funky law prof Benny Goldberg and promising romantic entry Rafe Salazar, Rachel gets on the trail of Montezuma's Executor—a trail that winds through US Customs, an over-the-top religious entrepreneur, and the St. Louis sewer system for a nifty finale. A fresh-voiced heroine, down-and-dirty legal detail, and more honest detection than you'd expect make this a winner.