BLOOD KIN

A crisply developed story that has quietly competent Inspector Roper (Robber Blind, etc.) called in to investigate the disappearance of legendary one-time movie star Rim Cavallo--who's now married to TV actor George Sheridan but has a past laden with several husbands and an infant son, all of whom met premature deaths. On the crucial weekend of Rita's disappearance, her daughter Greta and son-in-law Julius Warboys were guests, as was TV producer Kate Lindsey, researching a program on the Sheridans. Also in residence were attractive housekeeper Ellen Shaw--for George a soothing refuge from the imperious Rita--and Ellen's Bible-obsessed son, the family chauffeur and handyman whose police record raises a few questions. Connections quickly surface between Rita's disappearance and the murder of a Mrs. Blaney, found dead in a nearby village, her modest cottage full of recent, expensive improvements. The complex plot has its roots in the past, but the fury of a slightly disappointing murderer is very much of the present. A fine variety of believable characters adds solid underpinning to a steadily intriguing example of the English village procedural.