Down for the Count

In this “lively noir mystery,” a 1940s Hollywood private eye tries to clear heavyweight champ Joe Louis and corner a killer (Library Journal).

Joe Louis may be the heavyweight champ of the world, but private detective Toby Peters is pretty sure he’s not a cold-blooded killer. Pretty sure, because Peters has just found the boxer standing over a man on the beach who’s clearly been beaten to death. Louis claims he was just out for a run, but it doesn’t look good. Offering his services on the spot, Peters joins the champ’s corner.

The corpse isn’t just anyone. He happens to be Peters’s ex-wife’s new husband, the one she just hired him to find. Well, he found him. As the detective begins to investigate, he discovers the victim had lately taken an interest in the boxing world, which only further complicates matters. To clear the Louis, Peters will need to go a few rounds with a killer who won’t be pulling any punches.

The Edgar Award winner once again delivers a TKO in the hard-boiled detective genre with a tale Library Journal calls “vintage Kaminsky.”