Jemima Shore's First Case, and Other Stories

Jemima Shore, the British author's series sleuth, solves four cases in this collection of previously printed tales. Strikingly different, the other 13 stories feature supernatural or ironic incidents, each a satisfying shock. ""Dr. Zeit'' is a ghostly figure of foreboding to a mother and her son. Two women successfully commit a nasty crime in ``Have a Nice Death,'' a funny and hackle-raising story. But Fraser's star turn is the drama played ``On the Battlements'' of a castle in Tuscany. Visiting friends, a renowned actor named Victor and his faithless wife Letty are exploring the turrets and he is reciting Shakespearean lines requested by others in the group, when Letty nearly falls. Victor saves her and she says with feeling, ``I'll never slip again,'' reassuring him that she understands why he chose to speak excerpts from Othello. (June 22)