ENTICEMENTS

A second stab at jet-set romance as uninspiring as the first (Veil of Secrets, p. 213)--this one set in the high-society world of New York and England. When mega-businessman Sir Edward Wenlake decides to throw a New Year's Eve party in his swank New York apartment, he hardly foresees the terrible accident that will befall his mysterious, silver-haired lover, Melissa Montclare. But was the young millionairess's fatal fall from Wenlake's apartment window really accidental? Society photographer Rebecca Kendall, whose pictures of the party arouse her suspicions, thinks not. In spite of Wenlake's lack of enthusiasm and his right-hand man's active sabotage, the glamorous photographer sets out to solve the mystery of Melissa's murder as well as her cloudy past. As it turns out, the beautiful heiress was not the daughter of a railroad magnate but a Las Vegas showgirl who won a million-dollar jackpot; she also wasn't in love with Wenlake but was using him to acquire industry secrets and to engage in insider trading; and, yes, she was murdered--by her co-conspirator. Unfortunately, none of this comes as a surprise in this ridiculously contrived, suspenseless construction. In the end, Rebecca manages to solve the mystery, trounce the bad guys, get engaged to be married, and become pregnant. Parker is billed as ""a genuine jet-set insider,"" but something's gotten lost in this translation.