BACKSTABBER

What wisecracking mortician/amateur sleuth could resist the lure of a mysterious nighttime summons? Certainly not Hitchcock Sewell, whose youthful curiosity—exuberantly portrayed by reader Lawlor—leads him to aid his friend Jonathan "Sisco" Fontaine. Hitch arrives at the house of Sisco's girlfriend, Polly Weischeit, only to discover that Polly is actually a married woman, and her husband has been murdered. Polly and Sisco want Hitch to haul away the body in his hearse and "quietly tuck it into a grave," but he nixes that idea and convinces them to call the police, though not soon enough to avoid becoming a murder suspect himself. Lawlor assumes the same soft, subdued voice for virtually all of the book's female characters, lending them little personality or emotional depth. Fortunately, the story's constant stream of funeral home jokes and its fast-paced plot keep the entertainment level high. Simultaneous release with the Hyperion hardcover (Forecasts, June 28). (July)