A Fine Italian Hand: An Inspector Charlie Salter Mystery

In his ninth appearance (the most recent was Final Cut ), Toronto police inspector Charlie Salter has a hard time focusing on the case of a murdered actor. Salter is suffering either from spring fever (he keeps smelling nonexistent lilacs) or a midlife crisis: his thoughts turn often to aging and death while his wife is away on Prince Edward Island tending her father, who has had a stroke. Actor Alec Hunter was stabbed and garroted in a sleazy lakefront hotel; evidence points to a mob-style rubout. Connie Spurling, who was the victim's possessive lover and agent, says she had given him $1000 to pay his gambling debts, a suspiciously small sum to lead to murder. Meanwhile, Salter must also deal with the bribery charge made against a new friend in the gambling squad, and with the dilemma of Sgt. Ranovic, whose pregnant girlfriend is resisting his suit of marriage in favor of remaining a single mother. The agreeable Charlie penetrates a web of deceit to link this case to the earlier death of an actress. But the contrived plot falters due to undeveloped characters and a notable lack of suspense. (Oct.)