[The case of Lizzie Borden] has inspired more than a dozen books, several plays, two television treatments, even a ballet. Like many of those before him who have been fascinated by the case, Evan Hunter [in "Lizzie"] comes away from his research with a theory, a handful of facts rounded out with supposition and the zealous conviction of the amateur sleuth who's cracked an elusive nut. Widely known for the police novels he has written as Ed McBain, Mr. Hunter is a keen analyst of criminal motive, and his reconstruction in the last chapter of Lizzie Borden's actions on the day her parents were slain is an intriguing piece of speculative history that makes for the best reading in the book. Unfortunately, the platform on which that final scenario is played seems rather wobbly at times…. The fictional chapters, which alternate with the factual, send Lizzie on a...