PLAY WITH FIRE

An earnest policeman investigates a lurid murder in the swinging London of 1969.

Julie Teenager is a thoroughly modern call girl, a gauzy confection in pink and white calculated to excite the fantasies of London's stodgy middle-aged salarymen as they realize history has treated them cruelly. The Beatles! The Rolling Stones! A moon landing! Oh, to be young in that shifting moral climate. And Julie Teenager can give them a taste of it. When Julie (real name Lena Bobienski) is brutally murdered, Cathal Breen of the London CID is assigned to sort it all out. Julie had a small roster of regular clients, and Breen begins with them, uncovering identities, checking alibis; there is some internal interference, which suggests that perhaps one of Julie's clients was a police official. Then MI6 becomes involved—perhaps Julie was working for a foreign government or assisting an agent of one. Julie's maid, Florence, who helped schedule her appointments, is at first difficult to identify and then vanishes. Breen is not making much progress, but he is attracting the disapproving notice of police higher-ups. His investigation takes place against the background of '60s London, and as a representative of the "establishment," Breen is often confronted with unexpected situations. One especially tasty moment occurs when he interviews the editor of OZ, the alternative newspaper Julie advertised in. The editor refers to "Germaine," who writes about sex, and readers with long enough memories will see the young Germaine Greer testing her abilities. The contrast between the predictable stuffiness of "proper" London and the vivid, if irresponsible, liveliness of the new generation is generally well handled and rewarding. Breen and his partner, Helen Tozer, are deftly presented and believable, but the many mysteries never quite cohere, and the resolution is somewhat unsatisfying.

A fun visit to a bygone era, though not without flaws.