The Disenchanted Diva: A Rick and Rosie Mystery

The yuppie New York writers, Rick Ramsey and Rosie Caesare, are at it again, this time investigating the murder of a teenage runaway who Rick discovershorrifyinglywith breasts severed (shades of their last caper, which started with Rick finding a pair of severed hands). The search leads them to the Snake Club, an East Village hangout, and to the Ice Goddess, a Madonna-like stray who is the trashy star of this mud club. Throw in Ed Bains, a kinky movie producer, and the Leather Man, who ""prepares'' nubile young women for himand you have a glimpse of New York not encountered by the average tourist. When Rosie is attacked, and Ice's sister disappears, this mystery about characters on the downtown Manhattan scene begins to heat up. It's almost impossible, however, to like Rick, a liberated WASP, and Rosie, an earthy Italian, who blithely wade through the muck, dispensing witty epithets but avoiding the real horror of the subject matterteenage prostitution and child abuse. (December 18)