Skin Deep

In his second DI Mike Fletcher mystery, Miller ( An Echo of Justice ) straddles several genres to produce a tale of deft effect and dark narrative angles. In urban England, hate letters and a series of murders of Asian immigrants point to a known drug dealer with National Front sympathies, but Fletcher isn't so sure. The crimes demonstrate a demented sense of finesse, e.g., bodies frozen to disguise time of death. The killings mount as the divorced Fletcher is distracted by the demands of his superiors and his girlfriend, who is anxious to set up house, and by the memory of his dead daughter. Miller supplies a small suspect pool so the ending, though sly, doesn't astonish. But small detail carries the day: forensic shoptalk over glasses of good scotch; a junior copper falling for a bad blonde in a tight skirt; police interrogation methods getting rough. Part procedural, part psychological suspense, Miller's tale features a hero with a few flaws and a lot of heart. (Sept.)