Last Dance in Redondo

Andy Sussman ( Murder Off the Glass ) is back in another wacky sports mystery. This time the network sportscaster is calling the play-by-play for Celebrity Network Superteams when masked pro wrestler Dr. Double-X apparently drowns during the paddleboat race: the cause of death is heart failure, as determined by the police. Cliff Trager, Sussman's producer, orders him to continue reporting on the incident and the reaction of the wrestling world. But when no one can tell Sussman who the masked wrestler really was, he becomes convinced it was a case of murder. As Sussman spends his time wining, whining and worrying about his stature as a serious sportscaster, the story picks up speed and interest with the arrival of Murray Glick, a private investigator who operates out of an exclusive Chicago-suburb shopping mall and runs a singles mystery-cruise business on the side. Eager to pitch his ``Clue of the Day'' idea to the network, Glick helps his old pal, Sussman, by following the convoluted trail of Double-X's mysterious past from Chicago to Redondo Beach and finding the killer. Katz's implausible ending is disappointing, but his characters are disarmingly off-center and his portrait of pro wrestling, comically sympathetic. (Apr.)