The Low End of Nowhere: 9a Streeter Mystery

Con artists pop up everywhere in this solid first adventure for a Denver bounty hunter named Streeter. Soon after he foils a gorgeous advertising woman's scheme to cheat her insurance company, Streeter finds the woman, Story Moffatt, at his door. She wants him to trace the big bucks hidden by her drug-dealing boyfriend before his demise in a fiery car crash. The boyfriend's lowlife lawyer smells the money, too, but his sexy, street-smart ``paralegal'' has her own agenda. So do two eerie enforcers named Soyko and Romp, who enjoy indulging their violent tendencies. Streeter must race all these tricksters and sociopaths to the money, while a possibly bent cop follows him. First novelist Stone, a Denver PI himself, keeps all this together with an unexpectedly sure hand. Streeter takes the the stereotypical Tough Loner act to the limit until Story punctures his self-conscious facade, calling it a loser's cover. With that out of the way, this new hero lightens up nicely, rounding out his muscular debut as a tough and sometimes funny protagonist. (Feb.)