Midsummer Malice

Twenty years ago, hustler and showboat pianist Steadman George helped an unmarried girl sell her baby on the black market. Now the woman, an itinerant bead-seller, is back, and in the process of finding out what happened to her daughter, she accidentally reveals the name of the probable father. Steadman finds an opportunity for blackmail, which leads to his murder and another mystery for campus cop Peggy O'Neill. The reader witnesses the murder--and the killer's identity--but Lake (Cold Comfort) still keeps the tension high. In her eight earlier Peggy O'Neill mysteries, Lake has developed a reputation for sly, irreverent wit, and she doesn't fail here. (Dec.)