A Second Shot in the Dark

British amateur sleuth and reporter Chris Martin, last seen in A Real Shot in the Arm , returns, still bent on divorcing husband Keith, moving in with lover Pete and doing the best reporting job she can for the Tipping Herald. Chris is assigned to cover the death of a woman thought to be the latest victim of the Face Murderer, who bludgeons his prey and then shoots them in the face. Investigating the victim's background, , Chris interviews those closest to the deceased and realizes that their stories don't add up. She also discovers information about a plumbing supply owner who wins public contracts by plying local big shots with porno films and topless waitresses. As Chris bumbles from clue to clue and blurts out her theories about the murder, Keith pesters her to take him back and the killer decides she must die. The tense plot line is punctuated by Chris's wry observations on an older woman's struggle to find a career and her quips about the elusiveness of love. (Jan.)