Shrouded in fog from beginning to end, lived on dark streets and in interiors (physical and mental) that are just as dark, this story of a workmanlike, highly persistent police detective seeking to solve the murder of a nightclub hostess living in a cheap residential hotel, is not a book you read for fun. The writing is fine, at times better than fine. The characterization is deep--and intensely sad, including the detective, whose interior monologues are full of anguish. The story of Harry Chapel, the prime suspect, who served prison time for attempting to strangle his wife, is the most affecting. But Krasner for the most part just lets events unfold. He doesn't need to hit you over the head with stuff--he just lays it all out, from the murky beginning to the neat conclusion, and lets you float in it. This is about as dark and realistic as noir gets. ( )