Totally Dead: A Streeter Mystery

Tough Denver bounty hunter Streeter comes to the rescue of an aging pizza parlor owner with ""a bad case of Godfatheritis."" In Streeter's fourth, fast-moving adventure (after Token of Remorse, 1998), would-be mobster Alphonse Lucci needs protection from genuine tough guys muscling in on his restaurants. Mitch Bosco, a klutzy crook who listens avidly to self-help tapes and keeps a ""Prosperity Journal,"" tries to torch Lucci's house but mistakenly burns a neighbor's place. Bosco moonlights as a police informant, helping the cops sting a junkyard owner with a lucrative trade in stolen televisions and cars. These cases converge when Bosco's boss, Freddy Disanto, decides to blow Bosco's cover and steal the hot car money. While Streeter trails the hoods, his old friend Ronnie Taggert returns to Denver. Streeter and his bondsman partner hire Ronnie, who works tirelessly but whose fabulous looks begin to heat up the office. Among such incandescent players, Streeter almost seems like a supporting character for much of this entertaining novel. But his sharp eye for a suspicious turn of events proves vital in the end. Author tour. (Feb.)