Prime Candidate

Cotler (Shooting Script) sure-footedly wends his way through the garbage-strewn streets of New York news and politics in this entertaining mystery set during a nasty New York senatorial race. Former tabloid columnist Jock Caprisi's stint as a political spin doctor gets off to a rough start, to say the least, when real estate agent Sheri Bannerman is found dead in his candidate's Buick. Worse, before she was killed, Bannerman had recently left the apartment of Senator Morton Beaufoy. Caprisi swings into damage-control mode, realizing that Poppy Hancock, the ruthless campaign manager of the sleazy congressman who's challenging Beaufoy for the Democratic nomination, will use the murder to batter Beaufoy with innuendo. The married senator compounds his problems, offering an implausible explanation of his dealings with Sheri. Racing to stay ahead of the cops and keep Beaufoy ahead in the polls, Caprisi tracks down other suspects. Some readers may find the solution a stretch, but getting there is most of the fun. The tension--political and sexual--between Jock and Poppy makes for crackling good repartee, and the professorial Senator Beaufoy is Moynihandsomely drawn. (Feb.)