Body of Evidence

Private investigator Gardner Wells's offer to aid an old friend leads to breakneck suspense in this debut thriller. Ben Maitland's daughter Melanie has run away to Mexico, taking her four-year-old son. Melanie, with a history of psychiatric problems, is a potential danger to herself and to her child. Moreover, a previous detective on the case has disappeared. With help from a local police contact, Wells tracks Melanie to an ostentatious Mexico City apartment where she informs him that Ben ``doesn't have a grandson anymore''--Melanie has given him up for adoption. All seems legal, and Wells is about to close the case when Melanie's live-in lover is murdered, the apartment dusted with cocaine--and Melanie vanishes again. With clues scarce, Wells must rely on his own ingenuity as he is sucked into a whirlpool of drugs, pornography and child abuse. (Jan.)