CHARITY ENDS AT HOME

This mite box mystery, quainter and quirkier than Mr. Watson's earlier books, takes place in the village of Flaxborough which supports 43 charities, 18 of which are canine. A ""Dear Friend "" letter to the coroner, the constable and the town newspaper editor is followed by the death of Mrs. Palgrove of the Four Foot Haven. Did she fall or was she pushed. . . in the goldfish pond? All of this is eclectically English down to its patronyms (think of Miss Lucilla Teatime) so that one suspects that this four-footed nonsense is just a legpull.