Moody Forever

As in the first book of this series (Moody Gets the Blues, 1996), Oliver too often veers from a welcome offbeat humor into a serious lack of focus. It's the late 1970s, and the narrator is Scott Moody, a cabbie, Vietnam vet and former mental patient who applied for his PI license after having an hallucinatory chat with Humphrey Bogart. Moody, based in Mill City, Wash., is currently dating the rich and alluring Xanthia Welch even though he is still friendly with his ex-wife, Andrea, and enjoys the company of his young daughter, Andrea. For the aptly named Moody, this is about as good as life gets--too good to last, in fact. Shortly after getting out of Moody's cab, Xanthia's father, Andrew, is murdered. For the local cops, Moody is as good a suspect as any. Xanthia and Moody go on the lam to Seattle and points south, chasing down the increasingly elusive identity of Andrew. The dead man's real age is also a mystery, as is the authenticity of the Longevity Institute, located in Palm Springs, a place where time apparently stands still with the help of good genes, good eating habits and a lot of plastic surgery. The murder hunt grinds to a standstill as Xanthia morphs from loyal ally to Institute shill. Oliver gamely tries to tie together the three narrative strands centering on, respectively, a murder, a secret identity and a sinister organization. But while his effort offers line by line pleasures, the center doesn't hold. (Nov.)