A fatal glass of beer

What an amazing--and not famous enough by half--mystery writer Stuart M. Kaminsky is! By last count, he has been doing excellent work in three very different series: his sad and pungent books about Russian detective Porfiry Petrovich (Blood and Rubles, etc.); his gritty, poignant stories about aging Chicago cop Abe Lieberman (starting with Lieberman's Day); and his richly-detailed series about vintage Hollywood private eye Toby Peters. This 20th installment is one of the best, as Peters is hired by W. C. Fields to find the blackguard who is looting all of the comedian's secret bank accounts, carefully hidden under such fake names as Cormorant Beecham and Quigley E. Sneersight. Other Peters period adventures in paperback: Dancing in the Dark, He Done Her Wrong, Think Fast, Mr. Peters.