A CONSPIRACY OF STRANGERS

Solid follow-up to a well-received debut (Too Sane a Murder, 1984) that features Fort Worth's petite police-detective Deb Ralston, 40-ish mother of three adopted children, who discovers the body of a young, pregnant woman while dog-walking near her home. As Deb works to get the victim identified, she finds out that a number of pregnant women have disappeared in Fort Worth and environs. It seems that a black market in babies is centered in her bailiwick but--worse--none of these mothers has ever resurfaced. So, while feeding her always greasy stomach a steady diet of soda and potato chips, Deb tenaciously follows every lead--while the body count mounts with the murders of gentle abortionist Dr. Frank Kirk and midwife Rachel Strada. Her final, near-fatal encounter with the brain behind it all seems rash in view of the meticulously detailed police procedures that have gone before; but, still, it's a satisfying windup to a story with a gruesome theme that's softened by its chatty, homespun telling. A procedural that's refreshingly different.