Rubbed Out

Read Rubbed Out Storyline:

Rubbed OutRobin Light has had better days. Business at her pet store is painfully slow. Syracuse has had twenty-three consecutive days of snow. And she's trying to quit smoking. . .again. So when ex-cop Paul Santini calls, offering a cakewalk of a job finding some rich lawyer's runaway wife, Robin takes the case--without getting all the facts. She gets her first clue that something isn't right during a visit to the worried husband, Walter Wilcox. His story--that his wife's therapist is to blame for her disappearance--doesn't ring true, either. It isn't long before Wilcox is singing a different tune, one that includes his eighteen-year-old mistress, expensive trinkets, and Janet Wilcox taking off with a good chunk of their money.Only it isn't really Wilcox's money. It belongs to his employers, a couple of Russian wiseguys who don't take kindly to being swindled--and before Robin can tell Walter that she's found his wife in New York City, she finds him tortured to death. It's too bad for Walter. . .and even worse for Robin. Apparently, lawyers talk a lot under extreme pressure. They even mention names, like that of a certain part-time P.I. Now, with the Russian mob convinced she knows where the money is, Robin is on the run, desperate to find Janet, recover the stolen goods, and keep everyone she knows from becoming landfill. . .From Publishers WeeklyWith enough plot for two mysteries, this eighth in Block's Robin Light series (after 2001's Blowing Smoke) involves torture, double-dealing and the Russian mafia. Robin, part-time PI, part-time pet-store owner in Syracuse, N.Y., receives a job offer from ex-cop Paul Santini-locate the runaway wife of a rich lawyer. A piece of cake. But when Robin finds that the husband, Walter Wilcox, has a rundown office with a stretch limo parked out front, she realizes something is definitely askew. Walter's story changes: it develops that he has a 19-year-old mistress; what's more, his wife, Janet, took off with a lot of money; and Walter's employers, members of the Russian mob, want the loot back. Before Robin can inform Walter she's tracked Janet to New York City, somebody tortures the lawyer to death. He talked before expiring, and now the Russians are after Robin. Despite all the action, readers are likely to think the story is over halfway through. There's more to come, however, and most of it is fast-paced enough to gloss over the rough spots until the usual climactic shootout. Robin Light is an engaging creation, and there are sufficient plot twists to satisfy the average mystery fan. Even if the novel blazes no new trails, it's an exciting read with an attractive and strangely plausible heroine. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalSeries sleuth (Blowing Smoke) and pet store owner Robin Light tackles Syracuse cold, a pernicious smoking habit, and the case of a lawyer's missing wife. The "missing wife" turns into much more: a lying lawyer who steals from murderously vindictive Russian employers. An exciting challenge for a tough heroine.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.