Wasteland

The illegal maneuverings of an L.A. real estate company supply the prime motivation for this above-average murder mystery. Will Dunbar, a PR hack and influence peddler for Clem Real Estate, learns that his wife is having an affair with the firm's geologist. In short order, the man is killed and Will is charged with murder. At stake in the frame-up is the multimillion dollar fee the firm will gain if it can sell the city the lease to an environmentally suspect landfill site. Once past the stilted groundwork that details Will's rocky marriage, screenwriter McCabe ( City of Lies ) exhibits some deft thriller moves and the story becomes a page-turner. L.A.'s burned-out atmosphere is well portrayed, the courtroom writing is briskly paced and the suspense continues beyond Will's murder trial. Despite the deus ex machina intervention of an old flame of Will's and a slightly overexplained resolution, McCabe's tale suggests he is likely to make a mark in crime fiction. (Apr.)