This is the second book in the Shayne series. It's been about
thirty years since I read it the first time. I remembered it
as being better than the first one, _Dividend on Death_, and
it is, a little, but they're really pretty comparable. The
plot in this one is rather thin, but Phyllis is a better
developed character and not nearly as annoying as she is in
the first book. This is a direct sequel to the first book,
beginning a month after
_Dividend_ ends, and Phyllis and Shayne aren't married yet.
Tim Rourke, Shayne's reporter friend, makes his first
appearance in the series. He was missing from _Dividend_.
Shayne doesn't cook much at all in this book, but he sure
brews a lot of coffee and drinks a lot of cognac. As usual,
the breakneck pace is the best thing about this book. Dresser
really knows how to move a story along. There's not a word
wasted.
For all their flaws (and I do see them), for some reason
books from this era really resonate with me, more so than
most (but certainly not all) contemporary hardboiled fiction
does.
James
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