The Red Corvette

Old murder, old men and a sleepy midwestern town whose French name suggests deep-rooted evil frame Reid's ( Big Sky Blues ) latest well-crafted mystery featuring retired Rozette, Mont., policeman Leo Banks. Sarah and Gerry Heyman, who were, respectively, Leo's major love and his best friend in college in the '60s, unexpectedly visit Rozette during a summer trip out West with their children. A few months later, Sarah calls to ask Leo to investigate Gerry's murder in the southern Illinois town of Mauvaisterre. Gerry, a doctor, was beaten to death while trying to clear the name of a patient, a slightly retarded man whom he believed was wrongly convicted for the murder of a local woman 50 years before. To solve Gerry's murder, Leo investigates the earlier killing and is thus drawn into a tangle of old small-town secrets as well as the emotional terrain of his youth. Best in this solid effort is the unexpected friendship that develops between Leo and Mauvaisterre's sheriff, Freddy Pointdexter. Lots of small-town atmosphere, another death and the sins of fathers and sons lead to a rousing nighttime stampede during a harvest fair and a credible resolution. (July)