A DANGEROUS BUSINESS

London's lawyer-sleuth Rosa Epton (A Compelling Case, etc., etc.) is trying, but not terribly hard, to find out why her ex- client Eddie Ruding, supposedly in jail on a burglary conviction, is sitting in the restaurant in Amsterdam where she and boyfriend Peter Chen have gone for lunch during a weekend holiday. Rosa's near fatal ``accident'' later that day raises more questions. Back at the office, Rosa talks to Police Inspector Cain and Secret Service agent Colin Kirby, who Eddie claimed had hired him to commit the burglary. Days later, Eddie's murdered body is found outside the prison from which he'd been so quickly released. His formidable mother accuses mobster Tam Grigg, who's eventually charged with the murder of Joe Gillfroy, a small-time crook with inside info on Eddie. His arrest doesn't satisfy Rosa, who comes up with a motive and a culprit that make more sense. Our heroine seems offhand and mechanical in this episode, sending forth no sizzle even in her affair with Peter. A rather flat, insipid Underwood outing, then, lacking his usual crisp plotting and pace.