Although the mysterious disappearance of Winifred Ashby forms the central plot of No Word from Winifred, Heilbrun connects to it several subsidiary plots — notably the relationships between Toby Van Dine and Charlie Lucas and between Biddy and Martin Heffenreffer — which both advance the mystery plot and allow the author to comment on changing human relationships. Thus the novel is richer than the straightforward mystery novel, and shows Heilbrun's development in the genre since the 1964 In the Last Analysis. Part of the novel also turns on an elaborate insiders' joke. As part of her investigation, Kate attends a meeting of the Modern Language Association, all the while professing her loathing of these meetings of her own professional organization because of the pomposity of the papers and the crowded elevators. The fact that two years before the publication of this novel its author, Carolyn Heilbrun, served as president...