A Dangerous Business - Hardcover

London's lawyer-sleuth Rosa Epton (A Compelling Case, etc., etc.) is trying, but not terribly hard, to find out why her ex- client Eddie Ruding, supposedly in jail on a burglary conviction, is sitting in the restaurant in Amsterdam where she and boyfriend Peter Chen have gone for lunch during a weekend holiday. Rosa's near fatal ``accident'' later that day raises more questions. Back at the office, Rosa talks to Police Inspector Cain and Secret Service agent Colin Kirby, who Eddie claimed had hired him to commit the burglary. Days later, Eddie's murdered body is found outside the prison from which he'd been so quickly released. His formidable mother accuses mobster Tam Grigg, who's eventually charged with the murder of Joe Gillfroy, a small-time crook with inside info on Eddie. His arrest doesn't satisfy Rosa, who comes up with a motive and a culprit that make more sense. Our heroine seems offhand and mechanical in this episode, sending forth no sizzle even in her affair with Peter. A rather flat, insipid Underwood outing, then, lacking his usual crisp plotting and pace. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

In this latest Rosa Epton mystery, the barrister and her lover, Peter Chen, become involved with Britain's Security Service. Rosa sees former client Eddie Ruding in Amsterdam when he is supposed to be in an English prison after a burglary conviction. Shortly thereafter, an attempt is made on her life and Ruding is found murdered outside a prison, but not the one in which he had been incarcerated. Rosa learns that Ruding, who had alleged that he had entered the burgled premises at the behest of MI5, had been released and had disappeared. Egged on by the dead man's colorful cockney mother, Rosa and Peter begin looking into the Ruding's final activities. The murder of an informer, whose body is placed on the burglar's grave; the disappearance of Ruding's prosperous and probably criminal childhood friend; and the attempts of the Security Services case officer to vindicate himself add confusion to the case. Underwood's ( Rosa's Dilemma ) addition to her solid series offers insights into a barrister's daily life, but remains rather stodgy throughout.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.