Polo's Ponies: A Nick Polo Mystery

Private eye Nick Polo of Kennealy's Polo, Solo and Polo, Anyone is based on the author's career as a private detective in San Francisco. Matching the previous thrillers in ingenuity and atmosphere, the new novel also challenges the reader's tolerance for unspeakable acts, mercilessly detailed. Polo recounts his investigation into the murder of an old tout named Johnny, at the race track, a crime that leads the police to suspect both the detective and his Uncle Dominic, aka ``Pee Wee,'' a bookie who had Johnny on his payroll. Polo questions a succession of people whose muddled stories drive him into detours and dead ends before the faceless criminals claim a third victim. When they trap Polo, the scene becomes so inhumanely degrading that one has to shut the mind to it. As a result, the guilty party's fate, though terrible, seems justified. (Oct.)