Cat's Cradle

Steeped in acronyms and conventions familiar mainly to ardent fans of English procedurals, this slow-paced but absorbing tale examines the dichotomy between the old landed gentry and the new gentleman farmers. Recluse Lorely Pelling, daughter of a deceased squire and keeper of a houseful of cats, is found shot to death in Farlowes Woods the day after wealthy landowner Franklin Welch, hosting a party for his 13-year-old son, staged a target-shooting competition. Detective superintendent Mike Yeadings and his team, last seen in The Blue-Eyed Boy , investigate with detective Sgt. Mike Beaumont, whose son attended the party, and find that the old woman had been shot elsewhere and moved. The police have little else to go on until they learn that Lorely left her estate to the Welch children, calling them ``kin,'' even though the family insists they did not know their benefactor well. Although the plot barely hangs together as Yeadings delves into the victim's past, Curzon's characters--especially Yeadings, whose daughter, afflicted with Down syndrome, helps him look at the crime in a new way--are captivating. (May)