Polaroid Man

In Cormany's ( Red Winter ) fourth Dan Kruger novel, the bargain-basement Chicago private eye investigates the murder of beautiful, amoral Andrea Gale in Johnson City, Ill. Our pill-popping, alcoholic hero finds himself as welcome in the seedy small town as a sprig of poison ivy in a salad--he is beaten up by thugs, warned off the case by the cops and lied to. Undeterred, Kruger probes a list of suspects including Andrea's intellectual but sometimes abusive boyfriend; her jealous roommate, Lisa, who seems intent on a romantic relationship with Kruger despite their unpropitious first meeting at the crime scene; and Andrea and Lisa's lecherous boss. Enlightening visits to local dives, a collection of compromising snapshots and introductions to various undesirables who knew Andrea soon help Kruger solve her murder and two others. This rousing story, rife with lewdness, one-liners and blackmail, is a misogynistic view of the seamy side, definitely not for the fastidious. (June)