Feisty 72-year-old Manhattanite Margaret Binton and her troop of wily senior sleuths investigate the death of a young writer in this charming seventh series entry (after Blood Doesn't Tell ). Margaret's partner in her Smoke Stoppers group is author Adrian Lavin. Shortly after Margaret calls Adrian during a break in her law ethics class--she needs his help in order to resist lighting up--he is stabbed to death. Having wondered why he sounded edgy and frightened, Margaret disagrees with the police that the crime was a random murder and enlists her cohorts in some private detection. After nabbing Adrian's computer from his apartment and eliciting some quick lessons from her ethics instructor, she discovers information about people Adrian had been interviewing for his book about a West Side church. Enough secrets are revealed to make a number of influential parishioners suspects in the murder, leading Margaret and friends to befriend neighborhood doormen and merchants in the hope of solving the murder before one of them becomes next on the list to be bumped off. With sly humor and a credible crew of senior citizens, Barth delights his readers again.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Not trusting the police version of events, New York City oldster Margaret Binton urges seven other park-bench gang members to gather information relating to a young friend's death. She utilizes a "borrowed" computer to access cryptic notes, philosophizes about ethics in her law class (a small step to "deathics"), then systematically narrows a lengthy list of possibles. The advanced age of most of the protagonists results in a fairly tame plot, but some last-minute street action adds spice. For series followers.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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