Unnatural Hazard — Barry Cork

Cork's sequel to Dead Ball brings British detective, novelist and golf addict Angus Straun to a Scottish island at the invitation his friend Chas MacLiven. Owner of the island's castle, MacLiven has turned it into a resort-hotel, and Angus is one of several guests ready to play in a tournament, which is abruptly canceled by ``unnatural hazards.'' Angus relates the dicey doing after he and Chas discover a player dead at the bottom of the castle's oubliette. Someone seemingly has pushed the man 20 feet from the top of the prison, but a surplus of suspects hampers the investigation. These include IRA fanatics posing as divers for treasure on sunken ships; squatters protected by a saintly man who pities them as homeless souls, while secretly they plan vile observances of a pagan Midsummer ritual; and someone bent on avenging crimes committed by Nazis in 1942. The excitement runs as high as the tidal wave that crashes into the castle and punishes the guilty while Chas, gifted with ``The Sight,'' gets himself and the other innocents out of harm's way. This feat tops a tale with enough spooky incidents to please any mystery lover. (Mar.)