A Hazard of Losers

Seeing Las Vegas, city of dreams, through the skeptical squint of private investigator J. Pletcher is one of the pleasures of this novel by Biggle, a writer of mysteries and science fiction ( The Glendower Conspiracy ; Monument ). Summoned to Vegas to investigate a keno scam at Diamond D's casino, Pletcher soon discovers the murder of casino employee Harley Dantzig, which he thinks may be related to the scam. Absorbing the background detail which anchors this caper, we learn that keno is patterned on the national Chinese lottery brought to America by coolies; that intricate audiovisual psychology is involved in slot machine jackpots; and that Vegas divides tourists into ``Georges'' who tip or ``toke'' handsomely and ``stiffs'' who don't. Pletcher, helped by amateur detective Leda Rauchman, ``whose face wouldn't launch a leaky rowboat,'' finally runs down the killer of Harley and then the perpetrator of the scam. The book is plot-heavy but fresh (Pletcher doesn't once use a credit card to open a locked door), flippant and funny. (July)