Murder At The Margin, Jevons - B

                                               This 1978 novel is the first in the Henry Spearman series, the most recent of which was commented on here in April.  The authors and the main character are economists, and these books are occasionally assigned in conjunction with traditional source materials in econ courses.  Spearman is on vacation in the US Virgin Islands at a fabulous beach-side hotel where there are three fatalities. First, a noted curmudgeon is poisoned,  then, a bigoted loudmouth goes snorkeling and never returns, and finally, a recently retired US Supreme Court Justice falls of a perilous cliff.  The backstory is one of racial tension and violence in the Islands.  The arrest of two local 'agitators' does little to sway Spearman's analytical assessment of the murders. His application of his theories to the affair lacks some of the verve of the fourth book I read in April, but is adequate enough.