Faberge Egg

As the fourth mystery in this series lifts off, Upton hands his hero, San Francisco private eye Amos McGuffin, a case that really tries his mettle. This is a crazy, scary, hilarious takeoff on The Maltese Falcon , with McGuffin's ex-wife Marilyn and daughter Hillary seized by Otto Kruger, who has served a prison term for the murder of McGuffin's partner, Miles Dwindling. Claiming that Dwindling had robbed him of a treasured object, a Faberge egg, Kruger demands its return as ransom for the kidnap victims. If the egg can be found, which seems impossible, McGuffin faces the further problems of delivering it to Kruger or to his partner in crime, Klaus Vandenhof, who insists that the masterpiece belongs to him. Both unregenerate Nazis as well as former lovers, the duo threaten to kill Marilyn and Hillary if the detective fails to turn over the egg. Since he doesn't know which of the two is holding the hostages, McGuffin is forced to play a deadly game of deception, pretending he will give the egg to each extortionist, as events whirl toward a bloody finale. Here Upton deserves a standing ovation for a turn-up that is, literally, one for the books. (Nov.)