Other People's Houses

At first it seems self-evident to Milton Kovak of the Prophesy County, Okla., sheriff's department (last seen in Houston in the Rearview Mirror ) that bank teller Lois Bell committed suicide by turning on her car's engine in the closed garage. The carbon dioxide then seeped into her home, killing her three children and husband. But Kovak is puzzled by the absence of a suicide note and by the state of the house, the filthiest he's ever seen in his 50 years--an overflowing commode, soiled bed linens, piles of used diapers, food-encrusted tabletops. Discovering the family has no kin and, in fact, no past, he sends the husband's fingerprints to the FBI for indentification-- and opens the door to some shocking revelations. Totally involving, this tale is pure Twin Peaks . The bizarre is rocking on every front porch and there are enough adulterers for a town twice its size. Best of all, though, is balding Kovak holding his own against a city-slicker reporter, a nagging sister and the real estate establishment. Having proudly survived a hemorrhoidectomy, he can survive all. (Nov.)