Cat Austen, novice reporter for a New Jersey magazine, last seen in "Death of a D.J." (1995), is still licking her wounds--gunshot wounds--from her previous adventure. Now Cat is on a new story about an Atlantic City charity ball, and within hours, she has tripped over a dead fellow in a Santa Claus suit. Cat, widow and mother of two, sister to a whole raft of policemen, and sweetheart of still another cop, makes a thoroughly engaging heroine. The multifaceted New Jersey setting is as central to this story as the characters themselves, who reflect various steps on Atlantic City's social ladder. A Donald Trump takeoff and his Marla-ish second wife, for example, stand in fine counterpoint to Cat's Italian clan. There's also more than enough story here to satisfy those who like their characters and settings served with some action.