Shutout: A Mystery

The hardest thing to keep straight at the start of Nighbert's excellent third Bull Cochran mystery (following Squeezeplay) are the names of its lead characters, all brothers: Dewey, Duncan, Donald and Darrell Flanagan. Soon it's easy to tell them apart: Dewey's crazy, Duncan acts guilty, Darrell gambles too much and Donald's sick. Donald is also the father of Det. Sgt. Molly Flanagan of the Galveston PD, who is visiting her family in Knoxville, Tenn., with her boyfriend, ex-pitcher and mystery writer Cochran. The Flanagan brothers disagree about a buyout offer recently made for the family corporation. Dewey, who runs the business and is opposed, is institutionalized for attacking Darrell; soon Dewey's out of the picture, and the sale looks likely. But Bull's poking around reveals evidence of blackmail and a long-buried family secret-reason enough to cause Dewey's death and to endanger the rest of the family, including Molly. Red herrings abound in this sea of family intrigue, which also offers well-developed characters and a rousing climax. All in all, an adroitly crafted series entry, written with care and attention to character, plot and setting. (Mar.)