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MURDER AND CHIPS by Laurie Mantell

MURDER AND CHIPS

By

Pub Date: March 24th, 1982
Publisher: Walker

Ever-alert Detective Sergeant Steven Arrow returns in another New Zealand police procedural--and, happily, it's a considerable improvement over last year's Murder in Fancy Dress. This time Arrow is suspicious about a series of ""accidental"" deaths involving a group of motorcycle buddies. Also, simultaneously, he's dubious when a thief known as ""Cheapskate"" is fingered for the murder of Carter Ancell, well-liked owner of a small store specializing in costume jewelry. Could all these deaths somehow be connected? Perhaps. And the prime suspect tends to be Ancell's handsome, truculent nephew Luke. . . until the long arm of coincidence neatly lifts him off the hook. Such implausibilities aside, however, the police work here is deft if not gaudy. So, with a bit more polish in the writing than before (and a tad more attention to the New Zealand milieu), this is the least boring episode so far in an unremarkable procedural series.