Murder Has Its Points: Review

I picked up one of my Library Loot books from this week, but just couldn't settle into it. So, I went back to my tried-and-true mystery friends Frances and Richard Lockridge for another adventure with Pam and Jerry North. Murder Has Its Points starts out with a dramatic confrontation between Jerry North's latest best-selling author and his rival. The fight disrupts the party, but not nearly as much as when the best-selling author is shot on his way to dinner. A sniper has been on a rampage in NYC and when the report comes in Bill Weigand is relieved to think that his friends the Norths can't possibly be involved in this one. Then he realizes that they are. That makes him wonder if Anthony Payne's murder really is a simple case of sniper shooting. Especially when he finds out that there are plenty of people who would be happier with Payne dead. Two ex-wives and a current wife. A son that he refused to acknowledge. The rival author. An actor who lost his job in the play adaptation of Payne's book--at Payne's insistance. A bookstore owner/critic who believed Payne was corrupting his protege. What if one of these suspects used the sniper's activities to cover a murder of their own?

This was another fast-paced, satisfying mystery from the Lockridges. I continue to be charmed by Pam's interesting form of logic and I love the way they work the Siamese cats into the story. Just enough cat to add humor and interest without making it too cutesy or having the cats somehow steal the show. A perfect read for a cold winter's night. Four stars