Murders

McKEE OF CENTRE STREET--Helen Reilly--Crime Club ($2). Lean, dynamic Inspector McKee happened to be in the gold-domed radio room when the call came. When the telephone message was interrupted, he happened to know that "on the sanctuary floor" did not necessarily mean one of New York's 2,809 churches, but might refer to a swank speakeasy. So the mechanism of the Police Force swung into action before the dancer's body was cold. But there, its luck turned. Patrons of "The Sanctuary" could afford good lawyers and were too smart to be trapped easily. They were too important to be bullied. Even after the number of suspects was reduced to seven, it looked hopeless because all their stories were unimpeachable, their actions suspicious. It was McKee's apt use of the endless resources of Centre Street that turned the trick.

Many a radio listener has been fascinated by the short-wave broadcasting of staccato messages to cruising police cars. Everyone knows about the dramatic routine of photographing, fingerprinting, cataloguing. But few can know the intricate ramifications of the system. Experienced Authoress Reilly has done a good job of research, has put her facts into an exciting story, complete with jewels, footprints, love and blackmail. And she traces in meticulous detail each step in the elaborate process of covering a case.

THE KITCHEN CAKE MURDER--Christopher Bush--Morrow ($2). Knife-murder of an ancient drunken rip brings old Superintendent Wharton into active harness again. His failure to break the carefully checked alibis of the five major suspects is made good by debonair Ludovic Travers. This relative of the Yard finds the one necessary clue while learning to write a detective story in collaboration with the chief suspect.

DEATH BY CLUE--Henry C. Beck-- Dutton ($2). The peace of the New Jersey pine lands is disrupted by murder. The victim is an ill-mannered book reviewer. Curious Father Mickle, in on the discovery, prys his way through the case, successfully interpreting the only useful clue.

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