Casket for a Lying Lady: A Novel of Suspense

Hard-boiled PI J. D.JaneMulroy has a tough nut to crack. When Winkle, a skittish lawyer, retains her to locate his missing sister, who has skipped town with her new lover and some valuable coupon bonds, J. D. enlists the aid of her friend, black ex-pro football player Ahmad Dakar, to help in the search. But as the two follow the trail from Detroit to the rich groves of Florida, it becomes evident that Winkle is less concerned with the return of his sister than that of the bonds. Still, J. D. refuses to give up searching for the elusiveand possibly dangerouswoman, but it is an obsession that very nearly ends her life. This is a barely adequate story told with mediocre skill, but most disturbing are Werry's conceptions of how women and black people think and act, making his narration smug and patronizing, bordering on the offensive. U.K. rights: Laurence Pollinger; translation rights: Dodd, Mead. October 28