The Canberran

The accent of this British tale of crime and suspense may be Cockney, but its boots are solidly planted on ground trod by innumerable American private eyestough- talking, street-savvy, infinitely wily and resourceful, beneath their hard exterior shells sporting hearts of gold. Somewhat diminished by a terrorist bomb in London's West End (he's lost a foot and half his hearing), former cop Jim Jenner is hired to protect the wife of a shady fight manager, only to find the ""bird'' very dead, her face mutilated beyond recognition. A nagging suspicion arises: Is this the bird she's taken to be or some other corpse? Jenner commences hot pursuit, and the plot develops a satisfying series of twists and turns. There is no corner of this grimy underworld that hasn't been plumbed before, but this foray by the author of Tyro is freshened by saving touches of gallows humor, enough of the not-quite-expected to sustain the momentum and a gratifying resolution. For a half-deaf bloke with one foot, Jenner gets around surprisingly nimbly. (March 6)