DATE: Sunday, September 21, 1997            TAG: 9709110866

SECTION: COMMENTARY              PAGE: J2   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Book Review

SOURCE: By Shirley Presberg

                                            LENGTH:   85 lines

FROM THE MYSTERY SHELF

THE BURGLAR IN THE LIBRARY

LAWRENCE BLOCK

Dutton. 342 pp. $23.95.

Bernie Rhodenbarr, bookstore owner and amiable burglar, thinks he has discovered the location of a first edition of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, personally autographed for Dashiel Hammett. Bernie asks his girlfriend to accompany him to a New England country inn where he believes the book is stashed, but she informs him that she's getting married that weekend. Saddened - but not too brokenhearted - Bernie takes his platonic girlfriend instead. Although he's nonplussed when his ex-lover shows up with her new husband, he still plans to steal the book. But every time he gets close to the prize someone is murdered. Lawrence Block handles this amusing mystery with his usual snappy style.

DECEPTION ON HIS MIND

ELIZABETH GEORGE

Bantam. 613 pp. $24.95.

Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, off-duty while recovering from an injury, becomes involved in the investigation of a murder with racial overtones in a small English town. Someone kills an Asian immigrant who was about to enter into an arranged marriage with the daughter of a successful Asian businessman. The brother of the would-be bride stirs up trouble when he challenges the fairness of an inquiry conducted solely by English investigators. Author Elizabeth George focuses on misunderstandings stemming form cultural differences as she explores the covert and overt prejudices of her characters in this thoughtful mystery.

AMETHYST DREAMS

PHYLLIS A. WHITNEY

Crown. 276 pp. $25.

Nicholas Trench, a wealthy man who is ill, invites Hallie Knight to Topsail Island off the coast of North Carolina to find out why his granddaughter Susan disappeared two years ago. Things look grim in mystery grand master and Virginia resident Phyllis A. Whitney's latest, but not to worry. Nicholas' scheming ex-con daughter-in-law, who wants to inherit all his money, finds love and understanding. Hallie's philandering husband appears and is contrite. And the fate of Susan - dead though she is - wasn't really anyone's fault. Best of all, sickly Nicholas reunites with his ex-wife and, with courage and determination, will probably make a miraculous recovery. And the sun will come up tomorrow.

DEATH IN A MOOD INDIGO

FRANCINE MATHEWS

Bantam. 294 pp. $22.95.

``Whom do you interview when the victim was faceless? Where were the next of kin? The motives, the opportunities?'' These are the questions Nantucket detective Merry Folger confronts when two young children find human bones buried on the beach. Tests reveal that the bones belonged to a woman who died anywhere from two to 10 years ago. As Folger attempts to uncover the victim's identity, she discovers that the children's mother, their dead father, and his mistress may all be involved in the answer. Folger is a fine detective who becomes emotionally involved with her cases at an appropriate level. Francine Mathews has written a solid mystery with a hair-raising ending.

SKELETON CANYON

J.A. JANCE

Avon Books. 373 pp. $23.

Bree O'Brien and Ignacio Ybarra are high school sweethearts who have to meet secretly because both families find their relationship unsuitable. When Bree disappears, Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County, Ariz., heads the investigation. Although Ignacio appears to be the prime suspect when Bree is found murdered, Brady discovers a smuggling operation that points to the guilt of others. This fifth Joanna Brady mystery has some exciting moments, but author J.A. Jance tends to get sappy: ``But by the time they reached `land of the free and the home of the brave' Joanna Brady just gave up and let herself cry. Because she needed to. And because, for a change, crying felt good.''

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