Hidden Agenda

Porter informs her first novel with the authenticity of her experience in Canadian book publishing. Mystery surrounding the deaths of eminent book people in Toronto and New York challenges two good friendsJudith Hayes and Marsha Hillierto solve the case involving a missing manuscript. Judith is a divorced freelance writer whose son and daughter stay with their grandmother in Canada while the eager amateur sleuth visits Marsha in Manhattan. An editor at a paperback company, Marsha gives Judith details on the possible blockbuster status of the catalyst to killing, the manuscript pitting those set on publishing it against those adamantly opposed. As the women investigate, they invite dangerous attention, and so do Judith's children, whom the conspirators kidnap in a particularly suspenseful episode. The motive behind all the skullduggery is political intrigue of shocking proportions as disclosed in the offbeat story's finale. Although the author shows her unfamiliarity with Manhattan in certain geographical slips, her novel is otherwise believable and entertaining. (March 26)