Bolero: A Nick Sayler Novel

McDonell (Half Crazy) is a bit too true to the originals that inspired this first in a new series, which introduces Nick Sayler, a damaged PI somewhere between Lawrence Block’s Matthew Scudder and John D. Macdonald’s Travis McGee. Nick, who lives on a barge called Dumb Luck on the Jersey side of the Hudson, crosses the river after receiving a call from an ER doctor at Manhattan’s Bellevue hospital about an unidentified amnesiac woman. She was the victim of a brutal attack and was carrying Nick’s business card. Her misshapen feet suggest she’s a ballet dancer. When the doctor who called Nick turns up dead, and Nick and his friends narrowly fight off a raid aimed at the dancer, it becomes clear this was no random attack and that the dancer is still a target. The unsurprising, straightforward plot stalls in telling Nick’s tragic backstory, but readers will appreciate the colorful supporting cast, including beautiful women for Nick to protect from loathsome bad guys. (Mar.)