them he prefers spending it to making it. His indulgences include
gambling, expensive cars, and a house full of hangers-on, including two
detectives, O'Malley and Crane, who have been hired by the estate to
look into some threatening messages Penn has received. Soon Crane is
getting them too. But even two detectives on the inside and a couple of
others working on his connections can't stop Penn's sister Camilla from
getting kidnapped, and it is Crane who -- eventually -- unravels the two
cases and the connection between them.
I commented that Headed for a Hearse read like a teenage fantasy, and
this follows the same pattern. There are 261 pages, and too many of them
are spent describing the delights of the high life, the lushness of
Penn's female companions, the number and variety of drinks that Crane
and O'Malley manage to consume between sunup and the time they finally
stagger off to bed. There is some amusing dialogue, including a cameo
appearance by a famous author with piscatorial interests, but far too
much recreation and not enough detection. Even the bloodthirsty finale
is drawn out a little too long.
Penn should have called in Perry Mason. This is Detectives on Holiday,
at the reader's expense.
Jon.
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