Private-investigator-in-training Mort Angel has the dubious reputation as a locator of famous missing people—he’s been known to find some of their body parts when they’re dead. After meeting with Maude “Ma” Clary, head of Clary Investigations, he and his lover/assistant Lucy Landry find someone ripped the roof of Lucy’s Mustang convertible. That someone also dropped a human skull into the driver’s seat. Because it’s the skull of Ronald Soranden, the missing chief IRS agent in northern Nevada, Clary Investigations’ latest case involves the police, the FBI, and, of course, the IRS. Why would such a weird murder case link to the team’s latest embezzlement investigation? It must be Mort’s knack for involvement in cases involving body parts and missing people. The latest Gumshoe novel is darkly humorous and unconventional, with a PI aware of the absurdity of his career.
VERDICT Gumshoe, the first in the series, was a Shamus nominee, and the author continues to develop Mort’s character and his snappy repartee. Readers who loved Robert B. Parker’s Spenser or Matt Goldman’s Nils Shapiro will appreciate the humor and investigative work in this outstanding example of the PI novel.
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