Larkspur: A Mystery

This lively and appealing first mystery pits bookstore owner Lark Daily (the Monte, Calif., store is called Larkspur Books) and her policeman lover Jay Dodge against the murderer of elderly Dai Llewellyn, a rich, homosexual and renowned American poet. Because she's the daughter of a well-known poetess, Lark and Jay are invited for a Fourth of July weekend to Dai's luxurious fishing lodge. The house party is rudely disrupted when Dai is poisoned with larkspur. The guests are all suspects, of course, but immediate suspicion falls on Miguel, Dai's houseboy and lover, who disappears. While Jay, who is acting head of the local CID, investigates, Lark does a little probing of her own, particularly when Dai's will names as his heir the son of one of the guests, a former dancer; the young man is now revealed as Dai's offspring. The arrival of Lark's mother, designated Dai's literary executor, precipitates more violence. Simonson, previously the author of Regency romances ( Love and Folly ), makes a promising debut in the mystery field, deftly juggling a cozy modern suspense story with an up-to-date romance. ( June )