Dead on Arrival: A Maggie and Joe Mystery

Set in Memphis, Tenn., in a vague recent past (PCs are starting to replace typewriters), Griffey's saccharine sweet debut, the first in a series, teams young widow Maggie Murphy with cute cop Joe Driver. After her husband, Horace, dies in a motorcycle accident, Maggie gets a temp job at a local newspaper, filling in for missing columnist Fritz Wartz, that becomes permanent after Maggie discovers Wartz's corpse next to the paper's dumpster, with the Star of David carved into his forehead. Joe and his police colleague, Det. Alan Hill, welcome Maggie's amateur sleuthing into the hate crime; she in turn appreciates their assistance in proving Horace's death was no accident. Even diehard cozy fans may find Maggie's goody-goody persona too much, while Horace's ghostly spirit adds little to the predictable plot line. (Jan.)