Daddy's Girl

The third mystery thriller featuring Jimmy Jenner, the lame ex-cop-turned-PI, has all the elements that make a good adventure: a beautiful young woman, valuable contraband, murder, mobsters and a fast-paced plot abounding with so many twists and turns that it's hard to discern the truth until the final pages. The London-based shamus has just finished one of his more boring cases--babysitting touring American author Charlie Wallace. The writer's daughter Eleanor, who lives in Paris, suddenly appears on her father's doorstep and then vanishes without a trace. Wallace is worried and asks Jimmy to find her. While trying to locate Eleanor in Paris, he meets her boyfriend, Paolo Bianchi, son of an ``inactive'' mafioso. Later, Paolo is brutally killed, and the French police view Jimmy with suspicion. Meanwhile, Eleanor suddenly materializes and the likable, street-savvy Jimmy, who is also a lady's man, must identify the players and the woman's real role in a drug-smuggling operation while his own life is jeopardized. Readers will welcome more capers featuring Milne's ( The Moody Man ) cunning and smooth-talking detective. (June)