Platinum Blues

Canadian author Deverell's fourth U.S. suspense novel is a fast-paced, wickedly funny send-up of a rock music industry incestuously bedded down with corporate America. Oliver Gulliver, lawyer, widower and mayor of tiny Foolsgold, Calif., is suffering from midlife crisis, lustful fantasies and empty-nest syndrome. After his 18-year-old daughter, Elora, a college dropout, falls rapturously in love with alcoholic rock star C. C. Gilley, Gulliver finds himself defending the wild-man guitarist in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit involving a plagiarized song. When small-town hotshot Gulliver takes on the moguls of L.A.'s recording industry, the stakes escalate, and arson, murder and a sting gone haywire keep up the beat. Reeling off witty turns of phrase and uncanny plot twists, Deverell offers wonderfully sardonic takes on the worlds of music, law, Hollywood, Southern California and fatherhood--just for starters. (Sept.)