The Bottom Line Is Murder

This first mystery introduces Paul Marston, a Los Angeles-based private investigator whose milieu is corporate crime. When Marston's ex-boss Jack Carlisle, president of Western Shores Corporation, is killed in a suspicious plane crash, the detective begins looking into the business dealings. It seems that someone on the inside has been scheming to take control of the corporation. Marston's investigation brings him into contact with Carlisle's seductive widow and her murderous father, as well as with a crime kingpin and any number of thugs. A member of the tough-guy school, Marston is at home with a smoking gun in his hand. He has a soft spot, though, when it comes to his associate, Angel Cantini, who in addition to being beautiful and smart, is the Southern California women's boxing champ and a handy person to have around in a fight. Neither the plot nor the characters generate much excitement, but there is sufficient action to keep fans of the hardboiled detective school turning the pages. (June)