Name Games

When the ""king of miniatures,"" Carrol Cantrell, is strangled to death before the opening of a dollhouse craft show in Dumont, Wis., journalist Mark Manning discovers that his sleepy town is packed with suspects in this melodramatic gay cozy. A scarf at the murder scene points to Cantrell's arch rival, who vowed to topple his foe, but was conveniently out of town the night of the murder. A blackmail note on a laptop points to the closeted sheriff, who was sleeping with the victim. That Cantrell was also an expert defense witness in several pornography cases makes his early demise fortunate for the odd team of the local DA and an antisex feminist, who are trying to rid the town of its sole porn store. And what about the respected town elder whose car was spotted outside that same porn shop? Although this is the fourth Manning mystery, the evolving characters of the hero's architect partner, Neil, and their teenage ward, Thad, are still underdeveloped. But at least they're sympathetic, unlike ""feminazi"" Miriam Westerman, a villainess so hissably over-the-top one marvels at Craft's restraint in not throwing in flying monkeys. And what feminist would create an organization with the acronym FSNACH? Manning's primness--he only has homoerotic thoughts only while asleep--also strains credulity. Craft's habit of recapping the action every time a new character enters the plot may irritate seasoned mystery readers, who are bound to have guessed the killer's identity long before Manning gathers together all the suspects for one last recap. (June)