The Verdict on Each Man Dead

This thrilling third mystery (after The Drowned Man) starring the erudite Chief Insp. Peter Cammon, retired from Scotland Yard, opens with an apt quote from a Viking poem: "Wealth dies, Kinsmen die, a man himself must likewise die. But one thing I know that never dies%E2%80%94the verdict on each man dead." Peter claims Shakespeare as his religion, but he ends up in the heart of Mormon country when Henry Pastern, a young Salt Lake City police officer whom he met on a previous case and has occasionally mentored, asks for his help on a case that has left Henry personally devastated. What began as a local investigation of drugs and murder on a surburban street seems to have links to the Unabomber and Oklahoma City bombing cases. Whellams, whose 30-year career in criminal law lends authenticity to his writing, weaves the plot seamlessly through a variety of events to keep readers guessing. This intense, suspenseful, well-crafted mystery will make readers glad that Cammon has not retired. Agent: Robert Lecker, Robert Lecker Agency (Canada). (Aug.)