Clockwork

Seen first in Tinplate , antique toy-dealer Peter Marklin, with tippling sidekick Gus Tribble and girlfriend Arabella Trench, is once more drawn to amateur sleuthing when a local Dorset schoolteacher is ostracized--because he has AIDS--and then murdered soon after the proceeds from a recent benefit are stolen. While liberals and conservatives on the school's board of governors battle for control, Peter befriends Tony Thorn, a student with entrepreneurial predilections, and his girlfriend Ella, a young gymnastic star. Steed's thin plot, padded with inconsequential commentary, is further undermined by the interjection of AIDS, tastelessly incompatible with the often flip dialogue. Peter Marklin fans will be disappointed by both the sparse toy arcana and the grim, predictable resolution in this unrewarding non-adventure. (Nov.)