A STILL AND ICY SILENCE

The death of longtime arsonist Danny Goodman—in a bedroom fire, no less—sends his daughter Sandra scurrying to Lansing p.i. Stuart Mallory (Close Softly the Doors, 1991) just in time to talk him out of early retirement. After a witness to the blaze is killed that night, it's clear that Danny and his comrade-in-flames, Freddy Samuelson, whose car was found outside Danny's building, were up to some shady business—presumably a plot to torch behemoth Stone, Inc.'s, uncompleted Riverside Mall. And Mallory and his wisecracking lawyer/lover Patty Bonicelli get plenty of confirmation when Mallory is repeatedly attacked by bronco-sized Stone hireling Randall Kowalski and Sandy tries to pull him off the case. But who's hired Kowalski and the arsonists, since Stewart Meyers and Leon Slater, the major players in Stone, both seem to be such wimps? Routine action without much mystery, though the Michigan snowscape and Mallory's off-speed delivery are worth it.