INQUEST

Wilde admits in a prefatory note that the main interest lies in his characters and setting -- again a New England small town where the local folk take their time in talking prolifically. The whole action takes place in the coroner's court, when Aurelia Bennett, wealthy, famous pulp writer, loses her favorite guest via murder. Relatives assemble -- other guests -- other townsfolk, and all ramble on at length until the coroner pieces it together. A crooked deck of cards is handed the innocent reader, to cover up a weak plot. But the idea and the framework and some of the dialog is original.