Monday's Child is Dead

Following upon two murders and three blackmail schemes with half a dozen victims, Elward's (Public Smiles) final explication may seem to drag on a bit, but his new series looks like a winner, nevertheless, thanks to its bright, crabby 60-ish hero. Horace Livsey, a semi-retired history professor on Manhattan's Upper West Side, reluctantly agrees to house his aspiring-actress niece Ginny, as she hunts for an apartment. Then the young model with whom Ginny planned to live is murdered, with the police discovering both Horace and Ginny's names in her effects. Horace finds himself in the middle of both the murder investigation, where he's pushed by Ginny, and New York's fashion scene, where he's pulled by glamorous ex-wife Zoe, Countess Sirelli. While solving the case's interlocking puzzles, Horace holds on to his New York attitude (``Was being a possible suspect in a murder sufficient cause to get off jury duty?''), even as he copes with slightly crazed world of models, designers, photographers and powerful magazine editors. Smart, funny and bemused by the colorful characters around him, Horace is a delight. Promised next is Tuesday's Child Is Strangled; readers will wish the week had more than seven days. (Mar.)