SHOW STOPPER

Tretower Farm heiress Kori Brichter (Original Sin, etc.) has barely arrived at the Fourth Annual Lafite Class-A All-Arabian Horse Show and won a blue ribbon in beginning dressage when a much disliked trainer, Keith Bulward, is murdered with a hoof-knife in one of Kori's stalls. Among the suspects: Kori's young groom Brittany, who had refused Bulward's advances and been fired; an owner whose horse Bulward mistreated; a trainer he beat out of a job; a senator he cheated by selling him a sterile horse for a stud; and a few jealous lovers, past and present. Ignoring the inept policemen on hand, Kori sifts through rumors, innuendos, and gossip, then has the case solved by the time her favorite policeman, husband Peter, arrives on the scene. Kori, who used to be fey, fragile, and shy is, here, positively gregarious—and dull. Still, if one is keen on the horsy set, the ambiance is right, and the author gently pricks the pretensions and single-mindedness of competitors, owners, and judges.