The February Trouble: A Dave Garrett Mystery

Like its series predecessor, The January Corpse , this mystery features ambitious plotting, two-dimensional characters and an earnestly overwritten detective. Disbarred lawyer turned PI Dave Garrett, a Vietnam veteran who suffers from flashbacks, works the Lancaster, Pa., area. Desperately needing cash after a court order halts payment on the high fee from his last case, he takes a suspicious new assignment involving a lucrative Chinese fast-food franchise whose manager, Bruce Chadwick, is getting nasty letters in the mail, bullet holes in the restaurant's walls and soap bubbles in the won ton soup. Chadwick's wife is abducted and her elderly neighbor murdered, but Dave still can't get beneath his client's cold exterior or persuade him to involve the police, who have placed the PI at the top of their suspect list. Dave uncovers a history of affairs, a dysfunctional son and an abrasive boss, all of which lead him to suspect that the kidnapping and subsequent ransom demand are bogus. Albert deftly juggles shady business motives (account-keeping at the new eatery is a tad lax) and familial problems to arrive at a very slick resolution--preceded, unfortunately, by an abundance of dull talk. ( Dec. )