The Cambridge Theorem

The apparent suicide of a Cambridge University graduate student begins as a routine case for detective sergeant Derek Smailes, but dark political secrets half a century old soon surface, suggesting that Simon Bowles's death might well have been a murder. Smailes, the engaging hero of this atmospheric thriller, is a most unusual CID detective: he wears lizard-skin cowboy boots, loves the music of Willie Nelson and is generally obsessed with all things American. He discovers that Bowles, a mathematical genius, had recently been subjecting historical events to strict logical analysis, developed a compelling theorem pinpointing the real murderer of John F. Kennedy and begun work on identifying the long-rumored ``Fifth Man'' in the notorious group of Soviet spies recruited at Cambridge during the 1930s. Smailes's investigations lead to startling revelations about Bowles and his research, as well as the detective's own deceased policeman father, the beautiful American graduate student to whom Smailes is attracted and the murky world of international espionage. In his first novel, Cambridge graduate Cape expertly mixes just enough fact with fiction to keep his readers intrigued and entertained. Mysterious Book Club selection. (Mar.)