When lawyer Rosa Epton appears on the TV program Legal Aid, Vernon Gray, a wealthy old eccentric, decides to hire her to oversee the drafting of his will. But when Gray disappears with a housekeeper that Rosa herself helped him select, and when the police discover an unidentified corpse in his apartment, Rosa finds herself embroiled in both the search for Gray and for the identity of the uninvited corpse. Underwood (Death at Deepwood Grange, Hand of Fate is not at his best here, producing a plot that is little more than a mass of coincidence and contrivance. A series of ``what-if'' situations are used to build a thoroughly circumstantial case, and all wild guesses are found to be facts when the killer conveniently confesses at book's end. Although the one courtroom scene in the book demonstrates once again Underwood's strengths, readers will find this a plodding and repetitive mystery devoid of convincing characterization. (June 15) Copyright 1987 Cahners Business Information.
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