r xperience our full service salon...massa es, facials, full IDocl,y waxing, kair replacement, manicures, pedicures, Fair color & cut specialists. `MURDER DUET' 20% OFF ANY MAIN SALON SERVICE. WITH TI-115 AD. New clients only please. ig ianza alon 29199 Northwestern riw ,9. (2+8) .556-3 2 5 0 SZECHUAN • HUNAN CUISINE ?I'W • Cocktails, • Beer & Wine • Healthy Diet Dishes Available DINE IN OR CARRY-OUT • Excludes Holidays . • Expires 12-31-99 Cat 29875 NORTHWESTERN HIGHWAY At Inkster • Applegate Square • 353-7890 Former Location: 5815 Dixie Highway • Waterford And indeed, Nita is about to be tested. For she soon learns that first her father, and then her brother, have been murdered. Fortunately, she has Ohayon there to help. As with any good mystery, every chapter in Murder Duet tricks the read- er: Another suspect, another twist, another possibility. Here, the guilty parry, or parties, might be Nita's other brother Theo, the hot tempered con- ductor; the dark figure who apparently was desperate for Felix van Gelden's extraordinary Dutch painting; the female violinist; the much-loved and wise elderly music instructor; the visit- ing singer; Felix's quirky assistant; the symphony manager; and yes, Nita her- self— or someone else all together. What makes reading Murder Duet so much fun, though, is that in addi- tion to being suspenseful, it's well- written. Admittedly, a few instances in the plot are just a little too conve- nient: Ohayon just happens to live in the same apartment building as a woman who just happens to be `FORTUNE'S HAND' 1 TOTAL DINNER BILL from page 84 from page 84 turn quickly. Her gift is in creating interesting characters, which she puts in situations we can appreciate. She is a good contemporary psychologist, though she does allow some cliches to come into play. True to her surname, she does not offer the sweeping, descriptive style of what often passes for great literature. But for escapist reading that will con- vince you that being rich is not neces- sarily a blessing, you just might want to get hooked on Fortune's Hand. — Reviewed by Esther Allweiss Tschirhart `REDEMPTION' from page 85 tionship with Hopper, about whom he freely concedes he knows little or nothing. Could this new woman in his life be a murderer? Fast does a fine job with this love affair of middle (or indeed old) age. Presumably drawing on his own life experience, he gently depicts the physi- cal frailties of a man in his late 70s while affirming Goldman's continuing dignity, humanity and strength. His writing style is consistently engaging, and the courtroom scenes are generally convincing. Fast understands that trials are not decided in a single moment of drama but amount to 0/29 1999 86 Detroit Jewish News involved in an intriguing mystery?- (Of course, if you're not equipped with the skill known as "the willing suspension of disbelief," you're not likely to be reading a fictional mystery, anyway.) But the reader can forgive these because Gur is such a creative and engaging author. You'll actually enjoy reading the conversations between Ohayon and Nita, rather than skip- ping over all this seemingly superflu- ous material to get to the real crux of the story: how the murders are solved. (Further proof of Gur's abilities: the relationship between Ohayon and Nita will not develop as you imagine.) Gur does a fabulous job, too, of inte- grating the musical motif throughout the story. Few things make a mystery more insufferable than having a theme just dropped in for no reason whatsoev- er. While the raison d'etre of the book is, of course, solving a crime, along the way Gur nonetheless tells readers a great deal about the world of classical music and the passions it stirs in those who love it. It's clear the author herself is educated on the topic. It's no passing Belva Plain speaks 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, at the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Building of the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. Her talk is co- sponsored by Brandeis University National Women's Committee, Congregation Beth Shalom Sisterhood, Congregation B'nai David Sisterhood, Jewish Community Center Women's Health Club, Jewish Home and A ging Services, Na'amat, National Council of Jewish Women, Temple Kol Ami Sisterhood and Women's cumulative efforts by both sides over days or weeks to marshal the evidence. The author goes wrong in a couple of details, though. He has the trial judge expressing deep concern that if Hopper were to take the stand in her own defense, she would waive the privi- lege against self-incrimination and pos- sibly cause a mistrial. Actually, defense lawyers often put their clients on the stand in criminal cases. The issue is not a constitutional one but a tactical mat- ter. Also, in a brief interlude about Jewish ritual, Fast unaccountably con- fuses the bris (circumcision) with the pidyon ha-ben (redemption of the first- born), an entirely different ceremony.