Bahama Heat

Food editor Estabrook's fast-paced first novel is generally amusing, occasionally touching and always entertaining. Rev. Miles Farnsworth has a problem: the Vale, the small mission he runs for the Savior Network in the Bahamas, is in serious financial trouble. Thanks to his brother Ira's bad investments, Miles must come up with $500,000 to save the mission. Stormy Lake, a charming but quirky expatriate American, has been left a map by her murdered lover disclosing the location of approximately $1 million's worth of cocaine. But the drugs have already been found by a mildly retarded young man. He believes the coke is flour and has hidden it for Miles who, he expects, can sell it to save the Vale. Enter ``Fat Boy,'' a Bahamian policeman willing to use violence to get his hands on the contraband. Series of double- and triple-crosses, a few surprises at the end and a cast of offbeat but likable characters add up to a thoroughly engaging tale. (Oct.)