THE RICH DETECTIVE

Keating's last Inspector Ghote novel (The Iciest Sin) focused on the ethics of detection; this ironic tale goes still further in exploring the obsession of Detective Inspector Bill Sylvester, who investigates an anonymous tip that polished antiques-dealer Charles Roanoke has killed three nursing-home residents for the money he's inveigled them into leaving him. Despite increasingly fervent warnings from Supt. Sugden, the Big White Chief, to lay off well-connected Roanoke, Sylvester continues to work on the case even after a fabulous lottery prize leaves him wealthy and piques him into quitting the force. Edging further and further outside the law himself, he tracks down a fourth victim, identifies a potential fifth, and sets a series of elaborate traps for Roanoke, whose costly failure is still less disastrous than the success Sylvester seems fated to endure. All the dry-eyed penetration of an English Simenon, coupled with Keating's usual sly humor: a treat not to be missed.