MAGIC MAKES MURDER

A horror story -- English -- rather than a straight mystery, as Simon Brade once again becomes involved in one of those family closet skeleton situations in which he wine fame. Black magic -- a lust for power -- a threat of disaster to a whole family and neighborhood -- and Simon Brade on the job when death claims its victim. The story is told in part by Brade, in part by the invalid sister of the dead man, which gives the reader a sense of experiencing it at second or third hand. Plenty of creeps and macabre situations, but at the final wind-up, there are lots of loose ends.