The Moody Man

Jimmy Jenner, a London private investigator who was a policeman until he lost his leg in a terrorist explosion (in Dead Birds), is summoned from his home on a rainy night by a call from a long-lost friend, also a former cop. What he discovers when he arrives at Peter Moody's flat is not Peter, however, but the corpse of a woman that appears to have been planted to frame his pal. But does Jenner want to help Moody, let alone set eyes on him? Moody has done Jenner many bad turns and also kept him in the dark on a big secret about his life, a secret that smells of espionage. Jenner is dragged in, of course, and becomes embroiled in events that feature his estranged wife, a pert policewoman; beautiful Clara Fisher, once loved by both men; and police investigators and secret service agents who beat Jenner and keep changing their stories. The plot of this ingenious thriller turns on a complex set of interlocking betrayals, and Jenner has difficulty arriving at the truth. Amazingly, the explanations, revealed in a smashing noir ending, make sense. (January)