Money Trouble

Even though his first book has just been published, P.I. Nebraska's suffering bank balance and a bad case of writer's block lead him to work again as a private investigator, in a divorce case. Then he receives a call from a woman he loved many years ago. Carolyn Longo wants him to find out the truth about her husband Gregg, recently killed by police as a suspected bank robber. There is also a question about $78,000, the missing loot from the robberies. As Nebraska spends his days and nights tailing his ``matrimonial'' around Omaha and trying to find out what Longo had been up to while out of work and allegedly holding up banks, he discovers Longo's mistress and a tie between the two cases. Among Longo's problems had been a bad gambling habit and a taste for kinky sex. Nebraska also has his problems: too many womenan estranged wife, a psychologist lover and now Carolyn. Reynolds writes well in the medium-tough vein with nice allusions to other mystery writers. It's refreshing to find that Nebraska, now in his third outing (The Nebraska Quotient and Moving Targets), has a good relationship with and respect for the cops, which to a great extent is returned. (June)