Murder in Central Park: A Bill Donovan Mystery

Rollerblading, pot-smoking kids carouse until morning on Park Drive West; New York City officials have numbered Central Park's lampposts to make bird-watching easier. Traveloguelike tidbits like these abound in a typically sinuous, lazily plotted new mystery from Jahn (Murder on Fifth Avenue). Veteran police captain Bill Donovan finds himself camping out in a park tree house one spring night, lured by a scientist's research on some highly intelligent crows. The next morning, he discovers the corpse of computer whiz Harvey Cozzens floating in the pond beneath the bird conservatory. Within minutes, Donovan is off, meeting with suspects, colleagues and a homeless guru who provides insider's tips in return for roast beef sandwiches. Jahn's characters are familiar, but with an edge that will remind metropolitan readers of their real acquaintances. When he fails to turn up a reasonable motive for his prime suspects, rich kids Frank Lauriat (son of the bird-gazing scientist) and Natasha Cohen (daughter of a has-been Beat poet who broadcasts on the Web, scantily clad scenes of life from her bedroom), Donovan digs deeper, uncovering the scientist's old arch-rival, who could have easily mistaken Cozzens for Lauriat. While heavy on dialogue and skimpy on action, this seventh in the series offers good entertainment. (Mar.)