Gumshoe on the Loose: A Mortimer Angel Novel

Leininger burlesques the gumshoe subgenre in his uneven third outing for 42-year-old Reno, Nev., PI-in-training Mort Angel (after 2017’s Gumshoe for Two). Mort is flattered when a beautiful woman, who identifies herself only as Danya, approaches him in a bar and says she’s looking for a maverick PI. She leaves before she can explain what she wants of him, but promises to be in touch. The next day, Danya phones and asks Mort to check out an intruder at her house. There Mort finds journalist snoop Vincent Ignacio from the scandal sheet Celebrity News sneaking around. Ignacio admits to stalking Shanna Hayes, yet another beautiful woman, who’s married to Danya. Complications arise after Mort discovers the body of missing rapper Jonnie “Jo-X” Xenon hanging in Danya and Shanna’s garage, and Danya turns out to be the daughter of his Reno police nemesis, Russell Fairchild. Leininger’s mix of humor and the hard-boiled will strike some readers as awkward. Still, Mickey Spillane fans who can make do with a cut-rate version of Mike Hammer may be satisfied. (Apr.)