Rainbow in the Mist

Like many of Whitney's ( Poinciana ) 32 previous novels, this romantic mystery features smooth plotting, skillful foreshadowing and a determined, inquisitive young heroine in danger. Long Island-based clairvoyant Christy Loren has used her psychic talent to locate the bodies of missing persons. When her work becomes enervating and perilous, Christy seeks refuge at her Aunt Nona's home in the tranquil Virginia countryside. There, however, she warily starts investigating a double mystery: the death of Rose Vaughn and the disappearance of Deirdre Mitchell, a childlike, dreamy woman fascinated by mysticism. Sensing that Deirdre encountered someone evil, Christy is suspicous of both forbiddingly aloof Victor Birdcall and Eve Corey, who seems curiously evasive. Aided by her mother, a famed channeler of spirits, and Deirdre's attractive husband, Christy keeps sleuthing, even after envisioning her own death. Whitney piles on the suspense by prefacing each chapter with ominous first-person observations from the unnamed culprit. The chilling effect is marred, however, by the glib, unrewarding conclusion. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club dual main selection. (Mar.)