MURDER IN SILVERPLATE

The author of Blood Beast (not reviewed) and two other SF novels switches genres to ask whether there’s a serial killer loose among the silver-plated giftware.

Suddenly, industry leader Standard Silver, Inc., where Vicki Sanders works as Quality Control Manager, seems to have become a killing field, and it’s anybody’s guess who might be next. The mayhem begins when irascible, unpopular Production Manager Frank Antonelli is found dead near one of the giant machines in the pressing room, crushed in a way that could never have been an accident. In quick succession, two more Standard Silver employees meet untimely ends—and then comes the big one, the demise of CEO Edward Catterall, courtesy of a lethal wrench so enormous that it reminds Vicki of a medieval war axe. What’s going on here? Vicki asks herself, then her dad, who happens to be Detective Walter Henderson, the investigating police officer. To both, it’s a puzzle, since the many suspects all have airtight alibis. Is someone lying brilliantly? Is a sneaky corporate conspiracy at work? Or should they be looking for a conspiracy of killers? Detective Henderson remains baffled, but pretty, perky Vicki puts on her Nancy Drew hat and saves the day.

Less than sterling.