Publisher's Weekly
Both Allegretto and his private eye, Jacob Lomax, make their debuts here in a thriller set in Denver. Lomax is the narrator of events generated by Maryanne Townsend, who hires him to prove her husband Phillip was murdered. A rich oilman, Phillip drove his Jaguar off a mountain road to his death, accidentally or purposefully, the police declare. But Lomax earns his fee, recklessly jousting with brutal bikers Leonard Reese and a monstrous pal known as ``Tiny,'' as well as others in the city's underbelly. Finding a porno videocassette that shows Townsend raping a minor, abetted by two women, the detective suspects blackmail. He locates one of the performers in a porn shop and she gives him news that leads to a deadly encounter with Reese. Holding Maryanne Townsend and her small daughter hostage, the killer is waiting to dispose of them and Kemp at the novel's improbable climax. Allegretto has the talent to invent more credible and exciting adventures for his wise-cracking series hero, who doesn't quite fulfill his promise here.