DEAD MOON ON THE RISE

Fiftyish, divorced Milt Kovak, acting sheriff of Prophesy County, Oklahoma, has been reinvigorated by a new, pregnant wife- -psychiatrist Jean McDonnell—and plans to run for sheriff in the next election. A glitch in the works appears with the return of handsome, personable Wade Moon, who eloped years before with 16- year-old Gayla, leaving behind a wife and child. Not long after Wade announces his intention to oppose Milt in the election, his corpse turns up in nearby Tejas County's Blue Lake. Kovak's other problems include a string of animals stolen from the local shelter and mutilated; a bomb that totals his beloved '55 Chevy Bel-Air; a shot aimed at him that injures his deputy instead; and a running feud between his wife and sister. Solid police work isn't much in evidence in this latest installment of life in Prophesy County, whose hidden tragedies, comic incidents, and gritty speech have been more compelling elsewhere (One, Two, What Did Daddy Do?, 1992, etc.). Still, there aren't many dull moments in this generally engaging latest chapter.