DEAD CAT BOUNCE

To catch the killer of a database administrator at a Baltimore company, a tech-savvy private investigator goes undercover as the dead man’s replacement.

When Jason Napier turns up dead, his wife, Amy, hires private investigator C.T. Ferguson to poke around. “The coroner told me he froze to death,” Amy tells C.T. in Fowler’s 11th crime novel about the PI. “It doesn’t make any sense.” She adds that her husband told her he thought co-workers might be “double dipping,” which C.T. presumes “didn’t mean with the chips and salsa.” Jason had worked at Research and Technology Partners, an outfit that had helped companies in pretty dire straits have a brief resurgence known as a “dead cat bounce.” RTP operates out of a former meatpacking plant that has a freezer in the basement. Devon Knott, company CEO, backs Amy’s suspicions, and hires C.T. to pose as Jason’s replacement in order to infiltrate the company. Louie Eckert, head of mergers and acquisitions, and his “two meathead subordinates” quickly tangle with the private eye. Also on the detective’s case are goons hired by Gabriella Rizzo, whose father had dealings with C.T. in an earlier novel in the series. And the PI’s affluent parents—especially his mother, who only calls him by his given name, Coningsby—worry that his job is too dangerous after he was shot during an earlier misadventure. But the many perks of being C.T. include his wealthy girlfriend, Gloria, and his physical attractiveness. Although his undercover appearance includes a platinum wig and colored contact lenses, Gloria notes, “You can’t hide handsome.” Some readers may be put off by C.T.’s snarkiness, macho attributes, and unconventional tactics. Others may wonder why the police closed the case on Jason Napier’s death so early (and so conveniently for the plot). But the novel has an appealingly quick pace, and people familiar with Baltimore will enjoy the many references to the city’s sites.

A welcome further adventure by an audacious, attractive investigator.