Emma Chizzit and the Mother Lode Marauder

If, a quarter of the way into a mystery, the only suggestion of crime is a nasty note and a dead rattlesnake in a cooler, the author had better supply heaps of spirited prose and a barrelful of unforgettable characters. Alas, the fourth in a series from Hall ( Emma Chizzit and the Sacramento Stalker ) has neither. The tale is further encumbered by an excess of mannerisms and an unfocused sense of place--although Buckeye falls somewhere between San Francisco and Sacramento, the folks there have a down-home way of talkin'. Haulage magnate and busybody Emma Chizzit, in Buckeye to help out a friend, witnesses the arrival of bigmouth travel agent Trooper Hadley, whose TV trademark ``Who-eee'' quickly grates. By the time Trooper cashes in her chips, readers will have figured out what has set Buckeye's town leaders to moving and shaking. The tough language of the end is out of context and the revelation of the guilty party's identity is no surprise. (Aug.)