cover image Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers

Elizabeth Travis. St. Martin's Press, $17.95 (262pp) ISBN 978-0-312-05006-1

Amateur sleuths Ben and Carrie Porter ( Under the Influence ) return in a double murder case on the Cote d'Azur. Hoping to publish the last, posthumous book of renowned novelist Charles Melton, Ben and Carrie discover that the manuscript has been divided among five of Melton's acquaintances with a stipulation that the copyright will go to the person who secures the entire manuscript. Foul play rapidly ensues with the murder of Melton's male secretary and longtime companion. Suspicion rotates among Melton's agent, a beautiful young research assistant, an ultra-ambitious socialite and a scheming female editor, the only relative of the novelist. Portions of manuscript disappear and reappear, and the story they contain unfolds with the help of linguistic analysis. Travis's plot is interesting enough, and the various associates of Melton are well-drawn. It is probably a minor point that Ben and Carrie are almost entirely unnecessary to the plot. (Nov.)