A Lovely Night to Kill

Fans of Morgan's first Daisy Marlow mystery, Money Leads to Murder, may applaud the further exploits of the tough-talking, satin-draped private eye of a certain age, but it's hard to like the sleuth herself. Two days after a scientist and his family die in a fire that destroys their trailer home, the young man's elderly mother employs Daisy to deliver $25,000 demanded for the return of her dog, which disappeared from the scene of the blaze. Daisy discovers that the same ransom amount has been paid by other members of the woman's bridge group for their stolen pets and, after endless silly discussion, comes to believe the dognappings are connected to the fire. Working with her old lover, Sheriff Sam Milo, Daisy finds the link in a blackmail scheme run by former employees of a sleazy plastic-surgery clinic frequented by the women. Speaking exclusively in one-line snarls or cliches, Daisy's rudeness is as monumental as her figure. But she's not large enough to hide the holes in the plot. It's no surprise to learn that the trailer fire was set by a nuclear devicethis story bombs from beginning to end. (June)