Houston in the Rearview Mirror

Milton Kovak of the Prophesy County, Okla., sheriff's department (introduced in The Man in the Green Chevy ) is summoned to Houston where his long-estranged sister, Jewel, lies in a coma, accused of murdering her husband, accountant Henry Hotchkiss, and turning the gun on herself. While Milton cares for the couple's three children, he tries to discover the circumstances surrounding the shootings, and attempts to allay his guilt over his strained relationship with Jewel. Accompanied by Honey Lancaster, Jewel's gorgeous best friend and neighbor, Kovak seeks out others who might have a motive to kill Henry, who turns out to have been a philanderer. Although a visit to a pick-up bar frequented by Henry and Chuck, Honey's ex-football-player husband, turns up a number of Henry's girlfriends--and a one-night stand for Milton--but no solid leads, Milton remains convinced of Jewel's innocence. Cooper captures the nature of family bonds and the flavor of the declining Texas city, once rich and proud, now a little sad and seedy. ( Feb. )