Money to Burn

August 2, 1993
San Francisco PI Ronnie Ventana thinks David ``Bink'' Hanover is a jerk, and a sleazy one at that. Her opinion of her ex-husband's best friend deteriorates even further when he appears at her door at 3:30 a.m., chased by a quartet of Uzi-toting goons. Bink claims that they were set on him by Mary Solis, a carpool acquaintance who, he says, recently had his friend Artie Spenger murdered. Responding to Bink's plea for help, Ronnie takes her new client's murder story to the police, who couldn't be less interested: Spenger was determined to have committed suicide. Attempting to track down the elusive Mary Solis, Ronnie learns along the way that Bink and Mary's friendship went a smidgen beyond carpooling and that a few of Mary's gentleman friends have indeed come to unfortunate ends: one was even mauled by a lion. In this fast-paced adventure, White's ( Murder on the Run ) lively and redoubtable sleuth makes splendid company as, with perseverance and a bit of luck, she disentangles a web of personal relationships and professional intrigues that reach into some surprising crannies.

Private detective Ronnie Ventana is up to her eyeballs in dead bodies again when she reluctantly tries to help her ex-husband's old college chum, Bink Hanover. Reader Carol Cowan delivers a bravura performance; she brings the plot, style and characters into a cohesive and enjoyable package while maintaining each character's individuality. Whether Cowan is portraying rascally Blackie Coogan, obnoxious Philly Post, or puppy-like Aldo Stivick, her vocal characterizations are delicious, and her scene transitions are flawless. Cowan brings new meaning to the term "theater of the mind." E.E.L. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine