ROSA'S DILEMMA

A tepid outing for London lawyer Rosa Epton (Dual Enigma, etc., etc.) as she agrees to defend feckless young Jeremy Scott-Pearce on a charge of malicious mischief at the request of pompous Nettleford lawyer Malcolm Palfrey. Palfrey wishes to separately defend his godchild Amanda Ritchie, also charged in the case. This minor affair turns serious when Palfrey is found shot to death in a secluded area of Shilman Green park by groundskeeper Tom Berry, an attractive ex-medical student who throws Rosa's hormones into an uproar when they meet. Palfrey's Italian wife Nadine can produce no reason for her husband's presence in the park, armed with his Browning automatic, the gun that killed him. Suicide is ruled out by the medical examiner and the police concentrate on Rosa's client Scott-Pearce, who eventually confesses, claiming self-defense. More questions are raised with a second killing, and Rosa is aware a crucial part of this puzzle is missing. The reader may feel some of her wits are too as the story dithers to its unsatisfying conclusion. Limply under par for this frequently entertaining author.