Deadly Resurrection

Private detective Dan Cronyn has a problem: his alibis have a tendency to evaporate. When the police suspect him of murdering Murray Atwood, whose body he discovered, and Cronyn claims he only knew Atwood because he was working for a Ms. Pamela Davidson, the police find there's nobody by that name in the phone book. The fact that Cronyn is a former radical with a few blots on his record doesn't help him any. Nor does the fact that the cop investigating the case is convinced of Cronyn's guilt. Then there's the problem that a major piece of the puzzle is a former '60s flower child who is so burned out from drugs that she spends much of her time talking to an invisible friend. These obstacles encumber Cronyn more than they will the reader; most will weary of his forays into the past and soliloquys on his ""salad days.'' It's easy to figure out who the murderer is and how the pieces all fit together. This makes for a plodding and disappointing first attempt that, although the plot is basically interesting and the Washington, D.C., setting is rendered well, is ultimately bogged down by uninspired writing. (April 17)