AMBUSH FOR THE HUNTER (307 pp.)F. L GreenRandom House ($3).
AN EPITAPH FOR LOVE (252 pp.)Howard Clev/esDoubleday ($3.50).
The average whodunit never solves its most conspicuous crimethe murder of the King's English. But there are a few mystery writers who do not use the pen as a blunt instrument. Such are Britain's Howard Clewes and the late F. L. Green.* Neither An Epitaph for Love nor Ambush for the Hunter will floor anyone with surprises, but each crackles with suspense and crisp, literate prose.
Cozy Purgatory. Perhaps the more accomplished of the two gooseflesh impresarios...