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If you haven’t read any of James’s Harpur and Iles mysteries set in a nameless British city, then plunging into the 34th entry (after 2016’s First Fix Your Alibi) may feel a bit like being parachuted into the middle of an Ionesco play. Be prepared for non sequiturs, sprightly word play, literary references, and that uneasy yet exciting feeling that you should pay attention because anything might happen. When Det. Chief Insp. Colin Harpur and his over-the-top and off-the-rails partner, Asst. Chief Constable Desmond Iles, examine the body of a private detective, shot dead in a car in a cul-de-sac, Iles invokes Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard. Soon the narrative shifts to the viewpoint of the deceased, who, like the William Holden character in the classic Hollywood movie, tells us how he came to be a detective, details of the case he was working on, and, finally, why he ended up dead. The entertaining plot includes art theft, money laundering, and murder, as well as enjoyable digressions and a full complement of laughs. Agent: Euan Thorneycroft, A.M. Heath (U.K.). (May)