Poor old Cotton Hawes. It seems that he can’t interview a
woman about a case without falling in love. He even gets things going with the
widow of Sy Kramer, a blackmailer who has been gunned down roaring twenties
style in the middle of the city. When Hawes turns up and is mistaken for the
plumber, gets himself soaked while fixing the shower and has to remove his
shirt to dry off, we find ourselves in a classic scene. There’s humour, a
flavour of noir, character development by the bucket-load and all the while
there’s forward movement for the plot. In other words, it’s typical McBain. And
highly entertaining fiction.
The case of Sy Kramer is an interesting one. They guy has
landed some big cheques over a year and he’s spent extravagantly and with
taste. In the course of the investigation, we discover there are three main
sources of income. He’s been blackmailing the owner of a lemonade factory who
had a rodent problem, the wife of a politician with a history as a model and a
third from an unknown source which was the most lucrative of the bunch.
In Killer’s
Payoff (US)
Carella and Hawes take centre stage, the latter being keen to make amends for
his blunder when he arrived at the 87th. It’s an case that
will take him into the mountains to follow up Sy’s hunting habit and into the
up-and-coming areas of the city that are being overwhelmed by property development.
Best of all are the steps taken into the world of cheesecake – it’s a euphemism
that was new to me and if you don’t, you’ll just have to read it to find out.
Another great book that just makes me keen to read the next
in the series.
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