1 (900)-D-E-A-D: A Margo Fortier Mystery

There's both an edge of sadness and a survivor's toughness beneath the snappy patter of Margo Fortier, the 40-something New Orleans gossip columnist and former topless dancer we first met in The Hippie in the Wall, and those traits give her second outing a sustained energy. Married for 18 years to the wealthy and openly gay Julian, Margo can joke with him about whether she should lose weight or buy a girdle to attract a lover. But balancing her normal needs and her high standards (she prefers hefty, bald guys who can afford to buy her minks and pearls) isn't always easy. Margo is also attracted to such pursuits as Tarot and astrology, so when a famous telephone psychic named Mystic Delphine is skewered with the very sword she uses in her TV commercials, Fortier makes believe she's a reporter and barges into the murder investigation with all her weapons blazing. The suspects--including most of Delphine's former employees and several dissatisfied clients--aren't particularly fascinating, but the arch Margo (who discovers hidden psychic talents of her own, handed down from an Irish ancestor) makes up for them with lots of wit and compassion. (Jan.)