The Kingsbridge Plot

Part fiction, part fact and wholly entertaining, this historical mystery set in ``New-York'' on the eve of the Revolutionary War chronicles further adventures of the family Tonneman, introduced in The Dutchman . Revealing the identity of the villain at the start, the author, a husband-and-wife team, focuses on the chase, re-creating the sights, smells, customs and politics of a city whose rioting patriots are ruled by an English royal governor from a ship in the Narrows. Into this anarchic scene steps John Tonneman, returning after studying medicine for seven years in London to take the position of city coroner. The dogged, courageous John hunts for a lunatic killer who, while usually preying on redheaded women, is also hired by loyalists to poison George Washington. Meanwhile, spunky 15-year-old Mariana Mendoza, daughter of a successful merchant, persuades John to throw his lot in with the rebels fighting for independence. Her decidedly feminist views are the only anachronism in a book otherwise vividly true to its period. In their individual careers, Annette Meyers writes the Smith and Wetzon mysteries, Martin the Patrick Hardy series. (Aug.)