Strangers Who Linger

A nightmare begins for art restorer Greg Marten when he arrives in Santa Fe for an appointment with a priest beloved by local residents and finds him brutally murdered. A stranger in town, Greg is thought by police to be the culprit. Diana Clark, a beautiful widow who owes her rebellious brother Frankie'sp. 74 life to the priest, only half believes Greg's pleas of innocence, but the two make a deal to investigate the murder. Complicating matters are: police detective Don Clark, Diana's stubborn brother-in-law, who resents their intrusion into his investigation and Greg's romantic interest in Diana; a lonely school custodian who may have witnessed the crime; a banker's argument with the priest before the murder; gang members who were outside the church at the time of the murder;pk and a mysterious cowboy who appears and disappears at odd moments. The mystery is intriguing enough, but Diana and Don's distrust of Greg and his artistic lifestyle borders on the ridiculous. Don's harassment serves only to interrupt the action, while the resolution is anticlimactic. Thurlo is the author of Black Mesa. (May)