The seventh book in this series is a great example of early sixties paperback originals. It is set in a very loosely disguised Laguna Beach, complete with Pageant of the Masters, artist's studios, cliffs leading down to fabulous beaches, and parties featuring mermaids who appear to be swimming in the punchbowl. It's a fast-moving, quick read that features a woman who wades into the surf as if by compulsion, a bunch of hoods, a sculptor with a tire iron, a gambling wife, a murder, and more.
Dewey gives the reader a well-crafted story that is a lot of fun to read. It has a lot of the classic PI story elements including the merciless hoods, the femme fatale throwing herself at the PI, and all kinds of racing back and forth before the pieces all fall into place. Dewey doesn't try to make this tale anything that it isn't and it works real well. Despite the hoods and the beatings, it still feels like a lighter PI tale - perhaps it's the beach town partying atmosphere with the endless martinis. ( )