cover image Die-Cast

Die-Cast

Neville Steed. St. Martin's Press, $15.95 (214pp) ISBN 978-0-312-01420-9

Narrator Peter Marklin, the Dorset antique toy dealer and ex-adman first met in Tinplate, meets Lana-Lee Claudell, American movie star, and her nasty husband Maxwell at a party given by the star. Longhurst, would-be beau of Lanna-Lee, crashes the party drunk, hurling insults and threats at Maxwell. Mild-mannered Peter, trying to keep peace, gets a shiner from Longhurst for his pains. Soon, though, Peter realizes Longhurst is a decent chap. So when Maxwell is found bludgeoned to death on a beach near Longhurst's car, Peter can't believe that Longhurst is guilty as charged. Lana-Lee, who didn't like her husband and is in love with Longhurst, hires Peter to investigate. Meanwhile, we hear about Peter's plans to manufacture a die-cut copy of a Dinky Toy airplane. Eventually the strands of the plot come together in a mild welter of drugs, religious fanaticism and blackmail, a fairly unlikely situation at best. The shallow characterizations are matched by Peter's relentlessly coy diction: ""Two hours later found me seated on a rather hemorrhoidally cold rock on the beach.'' (April)