Roots of Evil

By following her villains almost as closely as she does her sleuths, Mitchell ( In Stony Places ) eliminates nearly all suspense from this police procedural, the third to feature Chief Inspector Morrisey of the English village of Malminster. A fatal firebombing of the home of Asian immigrants seems racially motivated; the police don't suspect anyone in Malminster's own corrupt town council. Nor do they consider foul play when 38-year-old town planner Richard Simms has a heart attack and dies in the resultant car crash, despite the insistence of his widow Claire that something is amiss. Det. Sgt. Barrett locates some of the firebombers, but not their leader. An anonymous call to Claire (``Leave things alone . . . while you still have two children'') and a burglar who searches through Richard's papers spur the police to connect the bombing to Simms's death. Eventually the sleuths catch up with the reader and trace the crimes to local bureaucrats, after which they undoubtedly submit reports--in triplicate--as bland and unengaging as this account. (July)