A Matter of Perspective

Readers will root once again for Stick Foster, the paraplegic detective journalist from Orlando last seen in Mall Rats , even though his case fails to deliver all the pleasures of its premise, namely that someone is killing lawyers. Stick's wife Sam, also a paraplegic, is an attorney at a well-regarded law firm where the senior partner suddenly keels over at a formal dinner, the apparent victim of a malfunctioning pacemaker. Then a young associate dies when his head is crushed by a bronze bust. Searching for motives behind the deaths that he's sure are murders, Stick looks for possibilities of partner rivalry and also examines the background of a pending lucrative case involving a death precipitated by a faulty exercise machine. Stick's determination and spirit offer a refreshing change from more laconic gumshoe types. Like his protagonist, Robinson is also wheelchair-bound. (Nov.)