DEATH DOWN HOME

A crackerjack new series featuring the dusty, wheat-growing, cattle-raising, oil-drilling, oven-hot state of Oklahoma--as well as newlyweds Sam and Nicky Titus (he's an Army security specialist; she's a photographer and general's daughter) who've just flown to Holton from Frankfurt, Germany, because Young Sam's dad, Big Sam, was ""accidentally"" run over and badly hurt by his truck while he was changing the tires. But Young Sam knows it was no accident: his brother Billy has disappeared; there are cockfights on the Titus property; the local environmentalist, Viola Mae, is acting peculiar--as are the Greenburn brothers--and someone is salting the derrick area, which results in an explosion. To complicate matters, Nicky hates small towns like Holton, and Sam not only hates farming and ranching but always found his dad disagreeable. Still, the two persevere, and, thanks to a clue provided by Nicky's camera, eventually pinpoint the culprits--who first have a go at Nicky. Downbeat ending, but a strong tale of conflicts--marital, emotional etc.--illuminate Sandstrom's debut, which warily treads the line between bathos and sincerity. The denouement fizzles, but not badly enough to mar this Oklahoma tribute.