A MURDER WAITING TO HAPPEN

The author's computer engineer--UFO expert Joe Jamison (Deadly Objectives, etc.)--has agreed to give a talk at a science-fiction convention at Minneapolis' Wellesford Regal Hotel. Dan Bascombe heads the committee of eccentrics making arrangements for the weekend, and a contentious lot they are--abrasive, macho Cass Grenzman; pure-food freak Diz Donovan; good-looking, flaky Maureen Tesla and her boyfriend of the moment, Wade Yates, among others. They're all at the hotel along with a crowd of sf fans; vendors of assorted wares, including lethal knives; hard-drinking college kids; security guards provided by the hotel; and Jamison's friend--ex-cop Mack Forrester, hired to keep the conventioneers out of the hair of other hotel guests. But no one bargains for the nasty tricks that bug proceedings from day one--a bomb scare; damage to the hotel kitchens; a blackout; and finally the murder of Cass Grenzman in the middle of a game of ""killers"" played in the hotel corridors and stairwells. A second victim is found soon after--as Mack and Jamison try to find their way to a solution through a welter of walkie-talkies, laser guns, costumed participants, exits and entrances, and a host of tenuous motives. The culprit declares himself in the melodramatic but ungripping finale to a dull, confusing puzzle--the chief virtue of which is a look at the ditsy side of science-fiction enthusiasts. Taylor has done much better.