Tightrope

Blue Maguire and Spaceman Kowalski Mystery #2

by Teri White

When the girl in the strange tee-shirt shows up at Blue Maguire's desk on Christmas Eve to complain that shes' afraid of her boyfriend, the policeman tells her to take a hike...

But when her corpse is found the next day, the search for her killer intertwines with the hunt for another murderer - one who has struck in the growing Vietnamese community of Los Angeles.

There the residents have learned to mind their own business, particularly when the police are around. So at the mention of a fortune in jewels put together during the fall of Saigon, things can get really quiet...

But some outside groups have other ideas - and if Maguire and Kowalski don't track down the killer quickly, the New Year may make a very bloody entrance.

228 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1986

About the author

Teri White is a publisher, artist and prolific zine author.

Reviews

[Thrillers R Us · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 Vietnam War buddies, 2 street-wise cops, a handful of bodies and a stash of diamonds makes TIGHTROPE a gem of a thriller find. Steeped with snappy dialogue & quick and shocking violence, TIGHTROPE brings 1980s Los Angeles alive with all its grime and night time glitter.

Easily enjoyable by modern thriller fans, parts of the story lines later found in BAD BOYS (1994) and Lethal Weapon (1987) will resonate with almost anyone. Teri White keeps the Vietnam War aspect light & mainly through vague references, though it does play an active part in the chase.

The tension between the two cops keeps things interesting and doesn't weigh the reader down with too many domestic problems. Not necessarily a police procedural, TIGHTROPE satisfies on an investigative level and a race against time that litters the streets of L.A. with bodies galore.

Apparently the second installment in a series, TIGHTROPE can easily be read as a stand-alone adventure and shines among hardboiled cops & robbers thrillers.

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing very consequential. LA mystery