When a violent double murder of the owner of a tire store and one of his workers occurs in normally crime-light Iowa City, former homicide detective-turned-private investigator Charlie Komensky is hired by a seductress of a client to bring his Chicago-style police skills to investigate and hopefully prove that the store owner's wife is guilty of the crime. After Charlie connects positively with the local police detective, he feels this job could be wrapped up in a week. However, as he uncovers a conspiracy undercurrent and becomes the target of a couple of assassination attempts, Charlie begins to realize just how dangerous a case he has taken on. This novel is a hyper-thriller mystery with a hard-nosed detective willing to stretch the rules in a noir setting. However, there are no sympathetic characters among the cast of suspects and some unrealistically lucky interactions are used to reveal secrets and drive the plot forward. If the reader can look past these points without looking under the hood, a satisfactory mystery might be enjoyed. ( )