The Death of a Dancing Fool

By staying quiet about exactly who the title character might be, Berry (The Death of a Difficult Woman) keeps the reader as alert and engaged as her returning amateur sleuth, Bonnie Indermill. Bonnie is reluctant to accept a job offer from an old friend, ``Fast Eddie'' Fong, last seen dodging the cops as well as some ``underworld types.'' But when the NYPD's Captain Lee, who has been eying Eddie's Manhattan nightclub, seconds the request, she agrees to sort out the filing (for Eddie) and to secretly note business irregularities (for Lee). Bonnie's own suspicions are aroused when Eddie's unsavory partner excludes her from the club's ``secure room'' and an enigmatic janitor drops dark hints about the recent suicide of a TV star seen at the club. Her visit to a man who could hold a key to the mystery is no help: he's home, but he's dead. It's all enough to make a woman try her hand at a little theft and a spot of breaking and entering--although even that won't save the life of the ``fool.'' While readers must suspend disbelief when the initially cautious Lee inexplicably and increasingly puts Bonnie in harm's way, they can still enjoy the way Bonnie deftly dances her way around the villains. (Jan.)