UNTIL DEATH

Minutes before the scheduled 6:00 A.M. broadcast of Morning Watch, anchor Concepción Candela, is found dead on the set -- and whodunit is the least of the mysteries for Morning Watch director Abby Abagnarro and his ex-wife Mary (""Ike"") Tygart, the TV show's producer. Why did her killer arrange Connie's corpse so perfectly, right down to her hairdo and makeup, that she looked as alive as venerable, pretzel-mouthed co-anchor Noel Heavener? Why was a note tied to her finger reading, ""I'll be watching for you"" -- the signature sign-off of her vengeful predecessor, Hannah Van Stone? What ""obvious"" problem had Connie noticed with a Dalí painting on temporary loan to the studio, and did that lead to her death? And how on earth had somebody managed to drown her on the landlocked 28th floor of the O. Armitage Broadcast Center? When it becomes clear that Capt. Dennis Fillingeri is at least as interested in Ike as he is in the killer, the producer decides that solving the murder herself could get miserly boss Othello Armitage off the collective Morning Watch back -- and, incidentally, give her career a major-league boost. She and the reluctant Abby form a detective duo whose constant squabbling makes them seem more firmly split-up than most divorced detective couples. This debut murder mystery's plot is downright incredible in its details and dangerously cute in execution -- but it's also inventive, lighthearted, and sparkling in a way that should prove irresistible to fans of that other St. Martin's stalwart, Michael Bowen.