Lyons, Arthur

New York. 1981. April 1981. Holt Rinehart & Winston. 1st Edition. Very Good in Slightly Worn Dustjacket. 0030536219. 253 pages. hardcover. Jacket desing and illustration by Myers and Nofsinger. keywords: Mystery America Los Angeles. FROM THE PUBLISHER - Arthur Lyons' Los Angeles detective, Jacob Asch, has been called ‘the very composite of the species, genus Californiensis (New York Times Book Review), and the five mystery novels featuring him have enjoyed increasing acclaim and recognition as being among the best detective fiction published today. Now, with HARD TRADE, Mr. Lyons has written his most brilliantly conceived and exciting Asch novel yet, a spellbinding tale of California political corruption. It begins when a troubled woman comes to Asch with a commonplace domestic case - she needs to know the truth about the man she is about to marry and hires Asch to surveil him. When Asch discovers the man to be homosexual, and the woman is run down and killed on her way to a hastily called meeting with Asch, it becomes clear that much more is at stake. The complexities and big-money schemes of Los Angeles real estate development are at the heart of the picture - with extensions into the tawdry ‘chickenhawk' world of Sunset Boulevard gays and deep into the California political arena, reaching ultimately to the state capitol in Sacramento. When Asch is framed for the murder of a Hollywood art dealer, he finds his career at stake and himself at the center of a large political scandal. The plot moves swiftly through a remarkable chain of revelations and scenes, but far more than surface solutions are at play in this consistently gripping novel of detection and intrigue. inventory #5364 ISBN: 0030536219.