The Mercy Trap

A mystery in the hard-boiled vein, complete with sashaying waitress, this debut features a young ex-cop in Cleveland who's become a private eye. Gil Disbro's clients have an adopted daughter, now a young woman, who needs a kidney transplant. They want Gil to find the biological mother whose identity was closely guarded by the lawyer who arranged the adoption nearly 30 years before. Gil's search disturbs a host of people, from an ex-con on the skids who winds up a corpse to an underworld figure who threatens Gil's life. While this mystery reveals rather more about Cleveland than some readers may wish to know, and its young hero speaks in a distinctly middle-aged voice, it is nevertheless well plotted and competently told. In the end, Disbro unearths some unexpected skeletons. (Mar.)