The Rap Factor

Leaving Paris, Serge Gorodish and Alba behind, Delacorta ( Diva ; Luna ; Lola ; Alba ) tries something new: setting his neo-pop thriller in the rap-music subculture of sweltering Miami. Zulu, the lusty and ultra-cool mixed-race detective, aided by trusty sidekicks Lita and Roy (``everything between us ran as smoothly as synchronized orgasms''), is called upon to investigate the apparent murder of ``Princess'' Bashma, the hard-living queen of Miami rap. If Delacorta's style is wholly derivative of Chandler, the plot--involving Bashma's prostitute sister Mona and Haitian Voodoo--is so soigne and atmospheric that one hardly minds. At the same time, a number of faux pas quickly establish Delacorta as a stranger to Miami--detective Zulu is described as ``the best lay on the Gulf of Mexico,'' though Miami is on the Atlantic--and consequently the story, after failing to establish its own credibility, collapses into Miami Vice -style violent sexist nonsense. One wonders how the darling of the downtown literary set, translator Catherine Texier ( Love Me Tender ; Panic Blood ), could get involved in such a project. (June)