DATE: Sunday, August 17, 1997               TAG: 9708070757

SECTION: COMMENTARY              PAGE: J2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY PRESBERG

                                            LENGTH:   86 lines

FROM THE MYSTERY SHELF

THE DEAD HORSE PAINT COMPANY

EARL EMERSON

William Morrow. 275 pp. $24.

Through bad luck, ineptitude and horrendous mistakes, several firemen die in a fire at the Dead Horse Paint Co. Many years later, Ed Callahan, the pompous chief who was in charge at the time, is invited to a seminar to give his version of the event. But someone intercepts him, locks him in a car trunk and sets the car on fire. Mac Fontana, a participant in the original fire, relives the incident in his mind as he hunts down the killer among the bitter survivors.

Emerson's story has merit, but it moves slowly. With all of the flashbacks and discussions of the past, it sometimes feels like the author is flogging his own dead horse.

KAT SCRATCH FEVER

KAREN KIJEWSKI

Putnam. 323 pp. $22.95.

PI Kat Colorado suspects that James Randolph was driven to suicide when she discovers a blackmailing scheme involving Randolph and several other victims. In a curious twist, the blackmailer coerces his victims into funneling the money into a charity for children. As Kat gets close to the solution, the blackmailer tries to scare her away with threats and murder attempts.

Kat, a gutsy detective, wisecracks her way through the plot: ``I sighed inwardly. I had morals and ethics. If I started billing like a lawyer, I was lost.'' The only problem with this diverting mystery is that by the time Kat realizes how many people are being blackmailed, there are too few suspects left.

HOT SUMMER

CAMILLA T. CRESPI

HarperCollins. 306 pp. $23.

In the morning, Bud Warren hires Simona and Dmitri (unlicensed operators of the DimSim Detective Agency) to prove that his wife was murdered. By evening, someone torches Bud's house, and he disappears. When his body is found in the bay, his daughter hires Simona and Dmitri to find out what happened. As they question several uncooperative suspects in the summer heat of the Hamptons, the story wilts. But there are redeeming qualities to this mystery. Crespi's obvious delight in eating and food preparation is apparent throughout. She even includes a recipe for ``Cool Pasta'' on the last page. And the banter between Simona and the heavyset Dmitri is amusing:

``You were lucky the stairs didn't collapse.''

``I tiptoe.''

THE AX

DONALD E. WESTLAKE

Mysterious Press. 273 pp. $23.

Burke Devore, downsized from his job as a paper company manager, finds a unique way to get a new job after two years of unemployment. By placing false ads in journals, he obtains resumes of his competitors and then coolly kills those he thinks will be hired instead of him. He muses about his murderous spree with a witty detachment: ``Of course, the irony in this one is, as the arc of my learning curve flattens toward complete competence, I'll have mastered a skill I'll never use again.'' Westlake's dark story of an obsessed, furious man is compelling and - this is really scary - quite convincing.

BOTH ENDS OF THE NIGHT

MARCIA MULLER

Mysterious Press. 353 pp. $23.

Flight instructor Matty Wildress summons PI Sharon McCone to find out what happened to John Seabrook, her missing live-in lover. Seabrook left instructions for Matty to take his young son and go into hiding immediately, but she decides to participate in an air show first. After someone tampers with her plane and she crashes, McCone discovers that John Seabrook was using a fake identity and had been on the run for over 10 years. As she journeys around the country looking for the elusive Seabrook, McCone uncovers a drug and murder scheme implicating wealthy businessmen and politicians. Muller creates extraordinary interest in the true identity of Seabrook, but once McCone discovers his history, the story loses its edge.

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