Days of Crime & Roses

Morgan's ( Mystery Loves Company ) new Dewey James mystery packs the small-town sexagenarian amateur sleuth off to New York City and some shenanigans at that ``darling charity of the very, very rich,'' the Bentley Foundation. Dewey's friend Jane Duncan is a benefactor and member of the governing board of the financially troubled institution. After a whirlwind courtship, Jane is planning to marry playwright Donald Brewster, who is up for an award from the Bentley. A member of the award committee warns Donald that it is being said his play was plagiarized from one written in the '20s. Thus Dewey gets a front-row seat on events when the group's director, Lainie Guiles, is found dead. Dewey realizes that only the few people Lainie worked with knew her well and that there is no love lost among staff members at the foundation, a hotbed of ``miserable politicking.'' Morgan has whipped up a batch of splendidly dreadful characters and made the Bentley Foundation an organization one could cheerfully loathe. Even better, Dewey has lost some of the smugness she has displayed in the past, and it is fun watching the ``old bat'' nudge the police toward the solution. (Oct.)