Murder at Moot Point

This erratic series launch from veteran Millhiser ( Michael's Wife ) never leaves the ground, its supernatural elements weighted down by its unexceptional mystery aspects. Single mother and literary agent Charlie Greene drives from Beverly Hills to Moot Point, Ore., to talk with client Jack Monroe, whose New Age book has been accepted by a publisher and who is currently experimenting with out-of-body experiences. As she meets with Jack on the evening of her arrival, the body of local gossip Georgie Glick and her bicycle are found under the wheels of Charlie's car. Although an autopsy shows that Georgie was shot, not run over, the weapon, when found, has Charlie's prints on it. In the process of clearing herself, Charlie meets many Moot Point residents, including the New Age guru and entrepreneur who runs a spiritual center and the townfolks who supply his devotees with food and souvenirs. Caught up in the otherworldliness of Moot Point, Charlie dreams repeatedly of a long-ago shipwreck off the coast. When an artist who painted a picture of the wreck drives his car off the cliffs and dies, Charlie decides to help the sheriff, with whom she becomes romantically involved, solve the mysteries. This mix of the ethereal and the mundane fails to convince in either sphere. (Oct.)