Nice Girls Finish Last: 9a Robin Hudson Mystery

It's not easy being a recently divorced 30-something woman in the Big Apple. But Robin Hudson, the sexy, flippant reporter for a nightly tabloid TV show who was last seen in What's a Girl Gotta Do?, has more reason to complain than most. Someone is undermining her social life by taking pot shots at her dates, who are hard enough to come by in the first place. And, as if that's not worrisome enough, her job's on the line, forcing her- a woman who grows poison ivy in her window boxes-to be unnaturally nice in the office. Her chirpy new persona is quickly put to the test when her gynecologist is found handcuffed in his office with a bullet hole in his head and a matchbook from a well-known S&M club by his side. Robin's sleazy boss wants her to investigate the story, with special emphasis on the S&M angle, even as she tries to avoid her bible-toting Aunt Maureen, who, in town for a church convention, hopes to place her niece on the straight and narrow permanently. Hayter, who has worked for CNN and WABC, has a splendid time spoofing egos on both sides of the camera. While readers will remember her giddy plot for about as long as a sound byte, her wry observations about the news world will resonate a bit longer. (Mar.)