European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 3, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                . Society put under the Microscope an inconvenient woman by Dominick Dunne Crown 416 pp., $19.95 Jeannine Stein it was Only a matter of time before author Dominick Dunne decided to turn his attention Westward and give the Blu bloods of los Angeles some attention. After writing two novels chronicling the lives loves and scandals of the moneyed and powerful members of the East coast social circuit he has come up with a an inconvenient woman a set in los Angeles. The Book his fourth already sold As a mini scrips to Abc takes up with the lives of the old guard and Hollywood a Nouveau Riche. Although the two groups have Seldom been known to Cross paths they do in this Book with murders and dangerous liaisons shaking the foundations of some seemingly perfect lives. After two novels a a the two mrs. Grenville so and a people like us a dealing with East coast society Dunne says he decided to shift his focus to los Angeles because he considers his former Home a fascinating City. A a in be had enormous happiness there and enormous unhappiness there. In be sort of gone Dominick Dunne through the spectrum. But in be always been interested in How the groups do not overlap the Way they do in new York a says the 64-year-old former movie producer. A a in be never understood it but in be always been fascinated by it. The kind of old guard los Angeles who belong to the . Country club really arc totally into themselves. Its not like the ladies who go to the Bistro they done to sit there and talk about the movie stars at the next table. They might even live next door to celebrities but they done to care and they done to relate to  so far he says a an inconvenient woman a Hasni to turned too Many people into sleuths As they try to determine on whom the characters Are based As has happened with other books. A i done to think in be Ever written a one on one character a he says. Although he has admitted to close correlations in the past including Gus Bailey who mirrors Dunne in a people like  a a in be always put three or four people together. A Friend of mine said this Book goes beyond the guessing game and if that a what people Are doing they re missing the Point of the Book a he says. A someone else said they loved the Book and they be already guessed who everyone was. I done to think that a a compliment a he says. Dunne called los Angeles Home from the 1950s through the 1970s, when he produced such films As a the boys in the band and a the panic in Needle  the source of his a enormous unhappiness in los Angeles could be the death of his daughter Dominique who was murdered by her sex Boyfriend in 1982. He keeps in touch with the . Social scene through sporadic visits to his former wife with whom he remains friends and some longtime friends. Dunne works for vanity fair Magazine writing profiles on celebrities and gathering fodder for his novels. For years he a managed to maintain a delicate balance Between befriending the social elite and writing about them. But not All his subjects have been thrilled with his stories. A listen some people get mad at me. I done to think Claus von Bulow wants to have dinner with me but i done to want to have dinner with him either a he says. He says he never sets out to skewer his subjects. A i would hate to make a fool of anybody. That a irresponsible. Besides people Are too damned interesting. If you know How to interview them right let them do it to  Jeannine Stein writes for the los Angeles times. The Book will be available in stars and stripes bookstores. Reviews Tom Robbins Skinny legs and All by Tom Robbins Bantam 416 pp., $19.95 in his previous novels Tom Robbins deployed his hyperactive sense of humor to wage a series of comic campaigns in the ongoing Battle of the sexes. In a Skinny legs and All a he expands the action across a Broad Battlefield of history pitting not Only male against female but also Christian against Pagan and Arab against jew. His heroine whom Robbins attempts to guide through history a distractions to ultimate knowledge is a contemporary Jezebel who flees her Virginia Home to become a Painter. She is pursued by her former Beau and won Over by his airstream trailer in which the two begin their journey. Along the Way the couple meet a variety of bizarre creatures who Lead them through ancient history Cults and legends As they try to fulfil a a very important Mission. The Many hurdles and complications eventually Are resolved in an unrealistically Happy ending. Tom Clark los Angeles times purpose of evasion by Greg Dinallo St. Martins press 327 pp., $18.95 what if there were a motive behind the . Raid on Libya besides punishing Moa mar Qadhafi for sponsoring acts of terrorism against the .? that is the premise of this very plausible Book. Author Greg Dinallo who spent hours in the cockpit of an f-111 fighter bomber to research this Book presupposes that the april 1986 air strike was in fact a cover up of the Ciao a plan to deliver two Al 11 jets to Qadhafi in Exchange for his assistance in releasing hostages held by palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal. The Cia scheme Calls for the two air planes to be secretly flown to Lakenheath a in the United kingdom. In the interest of National Security the two pilots Are to be killed and replaced by Cia operatives. The agents would then simulate crashing during the raid thus diverting the planes to Qadhafi. The scheme starts unravelling when one Pilot maj. Walter Shepherd escapes. The raid goes off As scheduled and Qadhafi gets his planes. But maj. Shepherd fleeing those who want him silenced begins to put the pieces together As he travels to Libya to save his Honor and his life. Jerry Wigen the stars and stripes Lazarus by Morris West St. Martins 292 pp., $19.95 Morris West May not be a Prophet but his writing has a certain prophetic Quality. In a the shoes of the Fisherman a the first of his trilogy on the Vatican a Cardinal from the Ukraine becomes Pope Kiril i. The novel was published shortly before the naming of the first polish Pope John Paul ii. In a Lazarus a the final part of the trilogy the new head of the Church is Pope Leo Xiv an unbending orthodox pontiff not unlike John Paul ii. Like Lazarus walking from the Tomb Leo emerges from heart surgery a changed Man determined to alter the churches orthodoxy he helped create. West paints himself into a Comer in his plot and the ending is a mild disappointment. But Overall he uses the medium of the novel to perfection in dealing with issues facing today a roman catholics. Edgar Miller United press International his Little women by Judith Rossner Summit 366 pp., $19.95 Nell is looking for the truth and hoping to set the record straight about her Hollywood producer father. Ego and ambition fuelled her father who was involved in three marriages that produced four daughters a a this Little  Nelly a search leads her to write a novel that lands the whole clan in court in a libel trial. There is an acquittal but was her novel fiction a this Little women a by the author of a looking for or. Goodbar a is a dramatic vivid account of the intricacies of extended and abandoned families. It is a Strong piece of work with dramatic prose and insight about the lines Between fact and fiction. Kathleen Ostrander United press International All books available in stars and stripes  8 c sunday june 3, 1990