cover image Copp in the Dark

Copp in the Dark

Don Pendleton. Dutton Books, $18.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-55611-210-2

Hardcore Pendleton fans ( Copp in Deep , the Executioner series) may enjoy his latest offering but most readers will remain puzzled until the last chapter's pat--and rushed--resolution. L.A. private eye Joe Copp is hired by members of a dinner-theater troupe to protect its young star. Within 24 hours, Copp is shot at, beaten up by two U.S. marshals and nearly railroaded into jail on a kidnapping charge. A Minnesota judge asks Copp to find a missing son who seems to be the troupe's star. But identities are iffy, and within a short time, five cast members are brutally stabbed to death, Copp gets involved with the theater's beautiful directorand owner, whose father is presiding over the trial of a Mafia biggie; an honest cop apparently commits suicide. There's also a hint of sexual hanky-panky and drug use. None of the characters are believable, the plot moves from scene to scene with little motivation and the final wrap-up sounds as if Pendleton himself had tired of the tale. (Apr.)