Hard News

In an unnamed California city that resembles San Diego, two newspapers, the Post and the Beacon, are duking it out for survival. A seeming break for the Post comes when two of its reporters, the down-and-out Gideon McCarthy and Prentice ``News'' LaFontaine, stumble onto the biggest story of their careers: the discovery of the body of a high-priced prostitute in the desert shortly after she has testified at a grand jury looking into police corruption. Snooping down various leads, the reporters uncover a shady real-estate development and an orgy masquerading as a political benefit, as well as a string of crooked cops and scared streetwalkers. The story line, which generates both suspense and steam, takes a grim turn when a major character is bludgeoned to death, then a disappointing one with a deus-ex-machina climax that undermines narrative credibility. Throughout, Sullivan's Post newsroom pulsates with captivating weirdness. If the chief political reporter isn't bawling about his infertility, the obit writer is practicing karate on a magnolia tree; if one assistant managing editor isn't howling like a dog, the other is heading for a motel room to act out scenes from romance novels. Sullivan (The Fall Line), a former investigative reporter in San Diego, has created some memorable characters here-though it's difficult to believe that so many of his villains fall for the old hidden microphone trick. (Nov.)