A Lively Form of Death

In this well-plotted, tersely scripted first novel, chief inspector John Morrissey has his work cut out for him. Three corpses, one horribly mutilated, and eight missing children--two seemingly separate cases that turn out to be linked--lead Morrissey along a twisted path into the darkest corners of Little Henge, a quiet English village rocked by sudden violence. ``There were serpents in every paradise,'' the local vicar thinks to himself as he studies femme fatale Marion Walsh. After Walsh's housekeeper pilfers a quart of milk from her employer--milk unfortunately laced with cyanide--Morrissey is called in to investigate her death. His attention quickly focuses on Helen Goddard, whose husband was having a well-publicized affair with Walsh. Unaccountably drawn to the prim, proper Helen, the happily married detective must struggle with himself to do his job objectively. Before he's through, the chief inspector will encounter pedophiles, kiddy porn, blackmail, more adultery and a new appreciation for such serpent-free pleasures as home, family and hearth. (Apr.)