The Scent of Murder

Pet-store owner Robin Light, last seen In Plain Sight, fends off rodents of the two-legged variety when she tries to help a street girl. Amy Richmond blunders into Robin's Syracuse, N.Y., pet store, Noah's Ark, with a ferret in her bag and asking for help. She claims that Murphy, Robin's deceased husband, told her to go to Robin if she ever needed anything. Then the girl flees from two pursuing policemen. At first reluctant to get involved, Robin reconsiders when she learns that Amy is Murphy's daughter. Robin agrees to meet when Amy calls again; but, instead of Murphy's daughter, she finds the corpse of Amy's legal father. While trying to track down the skittish Amy, Robin explores the volatile relationships among the other family members: Brad, the dead man's brother and partner in the Syracuse Casket Company; Brad's son, Frank; and the dead man's son, Charlie. In a story that never flags, Block shines a harsh light into ugly corners of modern America, where abandoned children escape loveless families through drugs and crime while self-absorbed adults lie, cheat and steal to get a little more of what they already have. The animals in Noah's Ark, including the boa constrictors, seem the most civilized creatures of all in this complex, satisfying story of family greed and corruption. (Aug.)