Planning for Murder

This posthumous novel by Morice proves that the author maintained her considerable powers as a wit and creator of complex puzzles right to the end. In Planning for Murder Morice again demonstrates her ability to work with a new cast of characters as she expresses in a mystery format her timely concern about the future of the English countryside should it fall into the hands of avaricious developers. In fact there seems to be no dearth of reasons to motivate the eccentric country neighbors whose actions center around a scene of the crime that also happens to be the site of a potential ``model village.'' When a nosy realtor and her friend peer into the windows of the country house that forms the center of the development scheme, they expect to catch a glimpse of the interior of a potential luxury apartment. But when they spy a corpse instead, their action sets off a series of incidents that include staged pranks and cold-blooded murder. As always, Morice provides not only a solid and satisfying plot but also marvelous, witty dialogue that illuminates both character and class. (Mar.)