From Publishers Weekly
Welcome in his eighth appearance, after Diamond Eyes , is St. Louis PI Alo Nudger, a decent, believable sleuth whose cooking isn't four-star, whose dialogue isn't from Comedy Central and who, while perfectly able to handle a gun, would rather not. Here, in a fairly ho-hum plot, he's hired by a comely lady from the Ozarks to investigate securities fraud. Like most comely ladies who hire detectives in the first chapter, Norvella Beane turns out to be a liar, but even as her duplicitous ways become clear, Nudger stays on the case. He stakes out a stockbroker, is confronted by a gunman wearing a swastika earring and is soon involved both with St. Louis drug dealers and in the ugly dynamics of the broker's family. When the bodies begin to add up, and they do, each new victim comes as a surprise. No surprise, however, is the outcome of Nudger's attempt to profit from an overheard conversation between two stockbrokers. Right. If Nudger invested in pine trees, somebody would cancel Christmas . Though this isn't his most compelling adventure, Nudger's good company anyway.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Edgar winner Lutz returns with another case featuring nebbishy private investigator Alo Nudger, whose former career with the St. Louis police mostly required him to dress as a clown and appear at grade schools. The violence entailed in his second career has given Nudger a chronically queasy stomach. (His addiction to Munchabuncha Donuts only adds to his misery.) Norva Beane hires Nudger to find junk-bond swindler Fred McMahon, who absconded with her money. McMahon, long out of sight, used to work with Dale Rand. Banking on Rand's possible involvement with the swindle, Nudger bugs his house. He learns nothing about McMahon but plenty about Rand and a cesspool of drugs, incest, blackmail, and murder. It's antacid-by-the-handful time for Nudger. Lutz fans will enjoy the juxtaposition of the perpetually harried, unsure Nudger against Fred Carver, Lutz's other series character, who is Nudger's antithesis--brave, secure in his calling, and tougher than hell. Carver is the man we want to be; Nudger is the man we are. A fine addition to an outstanding series.
Wes Lukowsky
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
