The Man Who Risked His Partner

Mick Axbrewder (6'5", 260 lb.) is the man of the title; his partner/lover/boss is Ginny Fistoulari, head of their private-eye firm in the Southwest city of Puerta del Sol. And since Ginny needs something to get her out of her post-mutilation depression (she lost a hand in a bomb-defusing accident), Axbrewder risks both their lives by taking on a dangerous case: bodyguarding bank-accountant Reg Haskell, who claims to be targeted for death by local mob chieftain "El Senor." Soon, in fact, Haskell and Axbrewder are nearly blown up in a booby-trapped car. But: is Haskell telling the truth about the who and why of these attacks? Is he perhaps really being stalked by his angry wife or one of his many ex-mistresses? (One of them is a schizo with a merc-thug protector.) And if the mob is after Haskell, is it because of gambling debts, or blackmail or. . . ? Overlong and repetitious, with Axbrewder's narration slipping into tough-guy pulp excess - but there's lots of visceral action, and the plot tie-up at the end (connecting to another case Mick is working on) is moderately satisfying. (Kirkus Reviews)