From Publishers Weekly In his fifth adventure ( Detective ; Murder ; etc.) New York private eye Stanley Hastings is still working for a sleazy lawyer， who generally sends him out to take depositions from "victims" in accident cases. Then Stanley finally gets a real client: Marvin Nickleson isn't likable， and tailing his estranged wife Monica isn't at all appealing， but Stanley--a would-be action-writer with a wife， a small child and a big dental bill--needs the money. Surveillance is uneventful until Monica drives out of town and checks into a motel near Poughkeepsie. The next morning， she's dead--though she isn't really Monica， the real Marvin isn't Stanley's client and Stanley is the chief murder suspect. The only clues are the first three letters of a license plate and a man in a checked cap， which eventually lead the detective to a land-zoning bribery scam. The ending is a bit pallid， and Stanley talks too much， but he's an appealing character nonetheless. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information， Inc. From Library Journal That likable accident-scene photographer and private investigator Stanley Hastings returns， inept as ever， as he tails a client's estranged wife. He follows the woman to a remote motel， falls asleep on surveillance， and wakes to find himself framed for her murder. As if that isn't enough， the murdered woman turns out to be someone else; Stanley's client duped him. With characteristic short， swift-moving sentences and low-key， wry humor ( Strangler ， LJ 5/1/89; Favor ， LJ 9/1/88)， Hall moves his bumbling protagonist toward the truth. Continued high quality.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews