Some Die Young: A Carl Pedersen Mystery

Fans of Hart's debut, Fetish , may be disappointed here. Detective Carl Pedersen of Bay Cove, Calif., is so slow investigating the rape and murder of 12-year-old Lisa Margolin that the pedophile is close to seducing her friend Meredith Crane. Meredith's diary holds clues to the ``older man'' who had attracted both her and Lisa on a visit to the offices of a local art journal, where Lisa's mother worked for Meredith's father, the managing editor. Investigating Lisa's father, Meredith's semi-delinquent brother and others, the police collect an overabundance of clues, as Meredith continues to meet secretly with the killer, who is identified in the overdramatized resolution. With the traits of all suspects exaggerated and little feeling expressed over crimes so terrible, this mystery fails to satisfy. (Mar.)