Diamond Head

It must have been the action, some of it beyond credibility, that captured the 1995 St. Martin's/Private Eye Writers of America Best First Private Eye Novel prize for this high-strung debut. John Caine, retired Navy SEAL, lives a quiet life on Duchess, a 56-foot sailboat moored in Pearl Harbor. But that quiet is shattered when Max, an old comrade in arms, enlists him to help their former commanding officer, Admiral MacGruder, whose daughter, Mary, was recently raped and murdered. Drugs or worse may have been a factor, and, if unsolved, the young woman's death might sink the Admiral's political aspirations. Caine seeks the help of Chawlie, a Chinese fixer who's worth $200 million and has his long tentacles in everybody's business. Through Chawlie, Caine acquires the police file on Mary's death, which leads him to Carter Thompson, a producer of pornographic and snuff films. At times, Knief's prose is powerful, such as his description of the horrific rape and murder of a girl on film. Elsewhere, he succumbs to hackneyed cliches, as when the narrating Caine describes one of Chawlie's emissaries as ""a real dragon-lady-bitch-goddess."" Caine is pretty excessive himself, able to swim 10 miles, doing battle with sharks and jellyfish with a bullet in his butt and handcuffs on his wrists. But at least he has trouble with the ladies, including homicide detective Kate Alapai. If Knief reduces the tallness of his tales and settles for a hero instead of a superhero, his Caine could lead a successful series. (Oct.)