Sweet Silver Blues

Private investigator Garrett, hero of the Cantard Wars, reluctantly agrees to return to the perilous Cantard mining country in search of a missing heiress. His companions include a renegade half-elf, a trio of frog-like ''grolls,'' and two sharp-tongued women with their own interest in the quest's successor failure. Cook's laconic style brings a dose of gritty realism to the fantasy genre. This latest adventure by the author of ''The Black Company'' trilogy is recommended. JC