The Grassy Knoll

By closely following the formula of the winning TV series, this first Columbo book in hardcover is itself a winner. As in the series, the puzzle here is less about who commits the crime than how Columbo solves it. Powerful TV talk-show host Paul Drury is murdered by his ex-wife and her besotted lover, the show's producer. LAPD's Lt. Columbo gets the case and before long we're involved with TV business hustlers, Vegas mobsters, rich right-wing crazies, colorful supporting players and secrets involving sex, gambling and JFK's assassination. At the center, as slyly polite as ever, is the rumpled detective, with his raincoat and cigars, the old jalopy he loves, the offstage wife and family--and of course, the trademark phrase: ``just one little thing. . . . '' Even though the murderous ex-wife warns her accomplices that Columbo is ``not as dumb as he looks. Not as dumb as he acts,'' they don't believe her until it's too late. Harrington ( For the Defense ) gets every note right and readers will find the action, including the assassination scenes, as vivid as anything on the tube--and without commercials. Readers will clamor for sequels. (Nov.)