Name Games: A Mark Manning Mystery

Mark Manning, once a prominent journalist at a major daily newspaper in Chicago, is now the owner and publisher of the Dumont Daily Register, the daily paper in a small Wisconsin city. Here the biggest news is the impending city council report on a proposed new adult bookstore zoning law, the upcoming election for Sheriff and the upcoming annual exhibition of the Midwest Miniatures Society. In a unique coup for the first-ever miniatures exhibition in Dumont, the "king of miniatures", Mr. Carroll Cantrell has agreed to come and judge the show's main event. But the exhibition itself is quickly shoved off the front page of the paper when Cantrell is found murdered in his room. To make matters worse, Doug Pierce, the local sheriff, is widely believed to be responsible. Pierce - a closeted gay man and friend of Mark Manning - had been carrying on an affair with Cantrell and was the last person seen leaving his room before the body was discovered. As conservative elements in Dumont attempt to exploit the murder - and the sheriff's association with the deceased - to their own ends, Manning, with the help of his lover, architect Neil Waite, his staff and friends, starts his own investigation of the murder. With Cantrell having led something of a double life with no end of potential enemies and the miniatures world itself being a hot bed of rivalries and closely held resentments, the truth begins to feel very elusive indeed. As public sentiment begins to swing and time running out for Sheriff Pierce, Mark must uncover some of this close-knit town's most deeply held secrets if he's to learn the truth in time.Publishers WeeklyWhen the "king of miniatures," Carrol Cantrell, is strangled to death before the opening of a dollhouse craft show in Dumont, Wis., journalist Mark Manning discovers that his sleepy town is packed with suspects in this melodramatic gay cozy. A scarf at the murder scene points to Cantrell's arch rival, who vowed to topple his foe, but was conveniently out of town the night of the murder. A blackmail note on a laptop points to the closeted sheriff, who was sleeping with the victim. That Cantrell was also an expert defense witness in several pornography cases makes his early demise fortunate for the odd team of the local DA and an antisex feminist, who are trying to rid the town of its sole porn store. And what about the respected town elder whose car was spotted outside that same porn shop? Although this is the fourth Manning mystery, the evolving characters of the hero's architect partner, Neil, and their teenage ward, Thad, are still underdeveloped. But at least they're sympathetic, unlike "feminazi" Miriam Westerman, a villainess so hissably over-the-top one marvels at Craft's restraint in not throwing in flying monkeys. And what feminist would create an organization with the acronym FSNACH? Manning's primness--he only has homoerotic thoughts only while asleep--also strains credulity. Craft's habit of recapping the action every time a new character enters the plot may irritate seasoned mystery readers, who are bound to have guessed the killer's identity long before Manning gathers together all the suspects for one last recap. (June) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|