Barney Amling, president of Pacific Guaranty, disappears. So do a million of the companyâs dollars. Ostensibly, he has gone to Mexico City for a monetary conference, but he didnât arrive and wasnât expected. His wife calls in the lawyer Simon Drake (Helen Nielsenâs usual and always brilliant detective). Neither she nor Simon, who knows Barney well, can believe that heâs a thief; nor can Captain Reardon, chief of police, who is another old friend. But things donât look good.
Simon probes into Barneyâs dubious relationship with Pucci, property speculator and near-gangster, and with Verna, ex-brothel madame and nightclub owner. The trail leads to Buenos Aires, where Barney is seemingly killed in a spectacular car crash. But is he dead? The plot grows increasingly complex, the action quickens, the tension mounts âŚ
Helen Nielsen writes as compellingly as ever; her ingenuity is matched by her readability. Her many fans have another treat in store this time.