ELEGY FOR A THIEF

Dyslexic Salem detective sergeant Gabriel Dunn (Requiem for a Postman, 1992), about to solo for the first time, is beeped off the flight to catch a—suicide? homicide? Gabe's instincts sense murder—and the bullet that was fired into the wall after the one that was blasted at close range into Moira Doheny confirms it, despite the suicide note indicating that poor Moira couldn't handle the pain lingering from last year's car accident. Whodunit? Moira surrounded herself with B&E guys, including: sometime boyfriend Chris; Judd, who put the moves on her while Chris was in the slammer; and baseball-card nut Eugene. Did Moira steal the stash from a recent burglary and get caught? Had her memory of her accident returned and implicated someone else? Or had lust run amok? Using snitches, a wry cynicism, and his jumbled reading skills, Gabe will close the case—and finally soar. Droll cop comments and a likable bunch of guys hanging out at the stationhouse create an offbeat charm—and the feel of a cozy village procedural.