The Last Striptease

In Wiley's fast-paced debut, Chicago PI Joe Kozmarski witnesses a murder while on routine surveillance. His old police colleague, Bill Gubman, takes the 911 call, but is soon shot by the suspect, who remains unnamed and at large. Meanwhile, retired judge Peter Rifkin's employee Bob Piedras is suspected of killing his girlfriend, Le Thi Hanh, after a lover's tiff. Rifkin asks Joe, an old family friend, to find evidence that will prove Piedras's innocence. When Joe reluctantly agrees, Le's violent brothers begin to dog his every move. With all this going on, Joe's mother surprises him with an ill-timed request to take in his rebellious 11-year-old nephew, who insists on “helping” with the investigations. A wonderfully flawed everyman, Joe is unable to learn from past mistakes and constantly making new ones. Readers will applaud his efforts and hard-won small victories as he plods bravely forward in this entertaining read. (Oct.)