Most Likely to Die

At her high school reunion (class of '68), Kate Jasper's former classmate, the annoying practical jokester Sid, dies when he's electrocuted by a rigged pinball machine. Once again, Kate's off and snooping, much to the dismay of Wayne, her hulking ""sweetie."" This is Girdner's (Fat-Free and Fatal) seventh book featuring Jasper. The characters, including Kate, are little more than a collection of tics and traits (Kate's an amateur sleuth/ vegetarian/ Northern Californian owner of a novelty company called Jest Gifts). As the sprightly first-person narrator, Kate is given to frequent recitations of the vegetarian meals she loves to eat. In a friend, this may be a lovable characteristic; in a fictional detective, it's an annoying distraction that slows the story. After and during several meals and snacks, Kate investigates her old classmates, eventually sniffing out the clever killer, but not before another murder. All the while, she tries a little matchmaking between old friends, works on her own romance (Wayne wants to wed; Kate's altar shy), and takes the reader on the usual tour of Northern California weirdness, including Kate's best friend, who is psychic, ""but never at the right time."" As lightweight mysteries go, it's entertaining but fairly pedestrian, a mild tail enlivened by Girdner's gentle wit. (Apr.)