Straight as an Arrow

Intelligent, plucky widower Kate Mulcay (last seen in Ah, Sweet Mystery ) carries this murder mystery, the resolution of which will be apparent even to novice armchair sleuths. Atlantan Kate is called to Ila Island off the Florida coast, where she has a vacation home, by her friend and year-round resident, Nora Noble. Suspecting that island residents are being killed, Nora asks Kate, who is a reporter, to investigate. Before Kate can get there, Nora's husband, Phil, who is afraid of snakes, suffers a non-fatal heart attack when he finds a rattler in the living room. Soon Kate is attacked by a wildcat in her cabin. Then Phil suffers another heart attack (fatal this time) when he sees a snake in the cockpit of his island-hopping plane. Kate becomes convinced that Nora's isn't just an hysterical reaction and that a killer is loose on the island. Attentive descriptions of the tiny island and its inhabitants enliven a predictable story. (Aug.)