Sunset Express

The public's readiness to believe the worst of its police forces is an undercurrent in the latest case (after Voodoo River) for Southern California PI Elvis Cole. Beginning with the discovery of a corpse off Mulholland Drive in suburban L.A., the plot uncovers high-level venality, advances the romance of the ever-engaging Cole with Louisiana lawyer Lucy Chenier and reveals some of the past of Joe Pike, Cole's enigmatic, seriously strange sidekick. Soon after the body of Susan Martin is found in a garbage bag, Detective Angela Rossi discovers evidence that implicates the victim's husband, wealthy mover and shaker Teddy Martin. Unfortunately, Rossi is under a cloud, having been accused of falsifying evidence in a previous case. Martin's attorney, Jonathan Green, considered one of the country's top five criminal defense attorneys, hires Cole after arriving at his office with a video and sound crew, to investigate Rossi. Though Cole's investigation clears Rossi, Green's subsequent announcement that Cole has proven her guilt, puts the PI at odds with the LAPD, forces him to examine Green's motives in the case and, finally, puts him on a course to correct the series of wrongs in the case that have prompted Lucy to observe: ""The law is not about justice."" $150,000 ad/promo; author tour. (Apr.)