Dead Ringer

Jacob Asch Mystery #4

by Arthur Lyons

Jacob Asch is called in by boxing promoter Jack Schwartz to help out Carlos Realango, an Argentine heavyweight whose career is on the skids. Carlos has been receiving threatening phone calls, and his manager and mistress, brassy blonde Susan Mezzano, thinks her husband is responsible. It seems a routine case until the down-and-out boxer is shot at Moonfire Ranch, a fancy brothel owned by Susan's husband. The police are calling it justifiable homicide, but Asch smells murder and something more than a lovers' quarrel.

Genres: Mystery, Hard Boiled, Detective

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

A member of the Palm Springs City Council from 1992-1995. Authored 21 books and numerous mystery novels. His 1986 novel "Castles Burning," which took place in Palm Springs, furnished the basis for the telemovie "Slow Burn" with Johnny Depp. Author of "Death on the Cheap -- The Lost B Movies of Film Noir.".

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A re-read for me. I'm a big fan of the late Mr. Lyons, a first-rate P.I. writer.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard-Boiled was alive and well in the 70's, thanks to Arthur Lyons.

[John M · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable yarn that is overspun. Chandleresque dialogue but plotting that borders on the opaque.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Jacob Asch, PI
SETTING: Reno, Nevada
SERIES: #4 of 11
RATING: 3.75
WHY: PI Jacob Asch is hired by a boxing promoter to investigate phone calls being made to heavyweight fighter Carlos Realango. Carlos has been having an affair with his manager, Susan Mezzano, who runs a whorehouse with her husband, Sal, in Reno. When Carlos is killed, Susan hires Asch to find out what happened. Asch is a well-drawn character, whose dialog rings true and who has a good sense of ethics. The plot was well developed. The book faltered at the end when Asch behaved inconsistently and events spun a bit out of control.