Mrs. Malory: Detective in Residence

In her first Dutton hardcover appearance, British widow and author Sheila Malory agrees to an old friend's long-standing request that she teach a course on women writers at Wilmot College, near Bucks County, Pa. Upon arrival, she catches up with her friend and then learns about the college, its members, including drama specialist Max Loring, whom the rest of the English faculty abhors, and the Whittier Institute, the area's cultural center. Sheila and the head of the Institute find Loring's body in a blanket chest in the Whittier Mansion after a concert; then the visiting professor befriends police lieutenant Mike Landis, in charge of the case. Her involvement in the investigation deepens after Loring's similarly despised brother is murdered. Despite a very slow start-the murder occurs a fourth of the way into the story-the charming and intuitive Sheila, last seen in Mrs. Malory and the Festival Murder, whose British sensibilities color her view of America, will charm readers of cozies. (Dec.)