Death to Go: An Inspector Bill Slider Mystery

This witty, intricate puzzle by the author of Orchestrated Death begins as a supposed crime passionelle. But each new kernel of evidence reveals an increasingly complex web of criminal intrigue. Detective Inspector Bill Slider is called on when a teenager finds a human finger among the fried potatoes she ordered at a London fish-and-chips shop. Body parts continue to surface as events expand to include a sinister business tycoon, a prostitutes' rooming house, three mysterious Asians, an odd mix of gay men and five murders. The reader is often a jump ahead of Slider--but only one jump, so surprises abound. While struggling with the case, Slider is occupied with a maddening new boss and a personal crisis pitting his passionate devotion to his violinist mistress against his responsibility to his wife and family. Fortunately he can lean on his reliable colleague, the discreet and dapper Atherton, who always has a ready ear and an apt pun for even the most gruesome occasions. (Feb.)