BODY LANGUAGE

Reporter Mark Manning never thought he’d leave his job at the Chicago Journal, but when he fails to win the prestigious Partridge Prize for his last big story (Eye Contact, 1998) and a legacy from his uncle Edwin Quatrain makes it possible for him to buy the Dumont Daily Register and move into the Quatrain family home two hours away, he jumps at the chance. Like magic, Parker Trent, a clever editor with a fabulous tush, applies for the job of Mark’s managing editor, and there’s a Christmas reunion with Edwin’s smart, successful daughter Suzanne and Edwin’s sweet, retarded son Joey (an absent third Quatrain child is discussed only in hushed tones). Except for Mark’s looming separation from his architect lover Neil Waite, in fact, everything’s going down as nice as pie when Suzanne’s killed at the height of the festivities, and a local anti—gay-male lesbian activist who’s fighting Mark for custody of Suzanne’s son decides to bolster her case by directing police suspicions Mark’s way. Most readers will beat Mark to the solution, and the mystery of Suzanne’s cryptic dying message is never quite cleared up. But Craft keeps things moving along smartly even for readers who aren’t quite as entranced as Mark by the sight of Parker Trent’s butt. It’s not just Mark, though, who’s undergone a sea-change; his third outing is as stately and old-fashioned as a Gay Pride Agatha Christie.