CATACOMBS

Two sections -- the first to establish that murder has been done; the second, two years later, to harry and hound the successful killer into desperate acts -- make up a time of suspense for Alice Taylor. Little fears beset her when she watches her aunt emplane from New York for Italy, when her uncle lapses from his normal behavior, and when a postcard proves her aunt must be dead. Proof of this impels her to impose her own brand of justice, after lulling the killer into security. Tantalizing.