[E. V. Cunningham's] "The Case of the Poisoned Eclairs" presents Sergeant Masuto with a case in which somebody is handing out poison goodies…. Masuto solves this case as he has solved the others in the past—through footwork, intuition, Zen philosophy and meditation. It also helps that he has Japanese friends and relatives all over the place, all of them wise, subtle and as intuitive as Masuto himself. Masuto gets into his usual trouble with his superiors and with the Los Angeles Police Department. Can he help it if he is smarter than they are? As before, Masuto's wife is a member of the cast, and there are some delightful asides about her and her investigations into the women's liberation movement.

Newgate Callendar, "Crime: 'The Case of the Poisoned Eclairs'," in The New York Times Book Review (© 1979 by The New York Times Company; reprinted by permission), June 10, 1979, p...