Twister: A Robin Light Mystery

This second outing (after Chutes and Adders) for Syracuse, N.Y.'s Robin Light is aptly named. But before the plot begins to turn, much of the fun comes from the 40-something, widowed pet-shop owner's supporting cast: an assistant with a shaved head; a teenage greaser-wannabe pal; a gruffly caring policeman friend; and the menagerie in her store. Trouble, however, comes from an old friend. When Robin agrees to ride along with glamorous, Jag-driving Lynn to ""see this guy,"" she figures she's meant to provide moral support during another episode of Lynn's tumultuous personal life. But, after waiting too long in the car, she tracks Lynn--only to find her friend kneeling over a corpse whose face looks vaguely familiar. Robin herself is implicated when one of her business cards from her journalism days is found in the dead man's pocket. After linking the dead man to a sensational, eight-year-old murder, she wonders why he had her card and what Lynn has to do with him and, possibly, the older crime. It's a twister all right, but Block skillfully carries readers through the turbulence to a satisfying conclusion. (July)