Body Of Work.(mystery and crime novels)(Book review)

Byline: Hannah Morrill

Bad plastic surgery has found a home in the tabloids, on TV, and on the Internet (for proof, just click on awfulplasticsurgery.com). But on bookstore shelves, mystery and crime writers have taken the theme to unprecedented levels of horror. Read on.

THE BOOK: Flawless by Joshua Spanogle (Delacorte Press) THE PLOT: Nate McCormick, a down-on-his-luck ex-CDC investigator, stumbles on the brutal murder of fellow scientist Paul Murphy and discovers Murphy had been developing Beautiful Essence, a black-market wrinkle filler that (whoops) causes disfiguring facial tumors. THE UGLY TRUTH: Though tempted, McCormick can't stomach sex with a victim of Beautiful Essence. "I rolled away from her.... Was it revulsion at the thought of Dorothy's mangled lips touching my skin?... Or even worse, was I a hypocrite? A man...for whom that bitch Beauty really is queen?"

THE BOOK: Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen (G.P. Putnam's Sons). THE PLOT: Rudy Graveline is the busiest plastic surgeon on Florida's Gold Coastdespite the fact that his patients occasionally end up dead. A hardboiled PI investigates Graveline's botched nose jobs and tummy tucksand brings down his empire. THE UGLY TRUTH: "The sun was very good for business. It baked and fried and pitted the facial flesh and seeded the pores with vile microscopic ...