Kin Platt (1911–2003) was the author of the perennially popular I Can Read Book Big Max, as well as several outstanding young-adult novels and the Max Roper mystery series for adults. Mr. Platt was also a noted cartoonist.
In his Max Roper series, Platt takes the classic hardboiled detective and moves him into the seventies in sunny Southern California. Each of the books in this series revolve a bit around a sport and here that sport is basketball. Shaving points is generally frowned upon but when the star of the Lakers is told to take a powder or die, things get a little dicey.
Platt manages to throw in a bit of seventies nostalgia into this mystery including the swinging singles scene in the Marina, celebrity parties, new age theories, and more. But there's plenty of murder, mayhem, conspiracy, and nights in Nuevo Laredo.
Platt's novels are not necessarily unique but they are always good solid reading and a lot of fun.