I previously have read Loren D. Estleman's Sherlock Holmes work and was intrigued when I found what appeared to be a noir (hardboiled?) story.I approached it thinking I was reading something like Sam Spade style noir but it soon became apparent that it would be more like Jack Nicholson in "Chinatown" neo-noir.The protagonist is a private investigator for whom nothing goes right. Even when things go right, they end up horribly fouled. He finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation for which he soon becomes a suspect.The book is heavy on doses of witty banter and a really great plot line that was hard to figure until the closing pages.Very well written.5 STARS