Broken Machines

There's always room in the universe for another clever private investigator, even one who's not licensed. Meet James Joseph Donovan. Donovan doesn't work alone; his ""genius"" partner, Dr. Boris Mikail Koulomzin, lives in the apartment next door. Their sphere of activity is the greater New York City area; they're ""consultants"" who help people who have run out of options with the legal system. Shades of Travis McGee! Leahey's first mystery starts out with a bang: Ruby Brice, a streetwalker and heroin addict, turns up dead. Urged on by Janet Fein, a brash social worker, Donovan agrees to help Ruby's 10-year-old son, Clifford, who happens to be very precocious, find his mother's killer. The one clue Donovan has is that Clifford says that Ruby had mentioned the National Manufacturing Corp., located in Brooklyn. When Donovan fortuitously lands a job there, the investigation gets into full swing. The three owners are infighting among themselves, and the workers may not be what they seem. Soon there are several more murders, both inside and outside of the factory. In the meantime, Donovan gets beaten up, Dr. Koulomzin faints at a murder scene and Clifford goes missing. The layers of muck and mire seem endless as Donovan uncovers one loathsome scheme after another being hatched by one, or more, of the owners. Justice finally triumphs in a clever ruse hatched by Donovan and his friends. Readers will be eager for more adventures of this engaging PI and his compatriots. (Oct.)