Dead Is Forever

Blame it on the dragonfish. Exquisitely sculpted in yellow jade, it's a piece that collector and sometimes private investigator Philip Beckett simply cannot resist. To purchase it, against all his better filial instincts, he takes the case, for which his formidable sibling rival, aptly named Regina, with no little contempt agrees to meet his handsome fee. The family, which Philip has scrupulously deserted, has a problem, it seems, for cousin Audrey's wayward husband, Count Sergio D'Alesse, has added an embarrassing $40,000 gambling debt to his long list of dubious accomplishments. All Philip has to do is make it go away—which he does. Only before you can say Sergio, the count is dead. And Philip is the prime suspect. In this smart, suspenseful new crime novel, the enthusiastically reviewed David Cray turns aside from police procedurals to follow the fortunes of Philip Beckett, erstwhile scion of his family's industrial empire, in his attempt to solve Sergio's apparently senseless murder. Not that Philip doesn't learn soon enough who the killer is. It's what he can't determine that's more worrisome, to both him and his family, as it becomes increasingly clear that the shadowy figure behind the killer is one of them.