The Fifth Script

Ex-police detective Lacey Lockington struggles to come to terms with the murder of his girlfriend, kills four vicious thugs in self-defense for which he is strongly criticized by a columnist for the Morning Sentinel and becomes number one suspect when other writers of the column start turning up dead

Spencer's latest is lumpy, burdened by supposedly funny gibes at fat ladies, and interminable. The central figure, Lacy Lockington, is a cop suspended from the force in Chicago when columnist "Stella Starbright" dubs him a kill-crazy officer, more dangerous than the crooks he shoots. Approached by Duke Denny, a private detective, Lockington agrees to replace Moose Katzenbach, who is quitting Denny's agency. Thus the off-duty policeman meets Stella S., his nemesis, aka Erika Elwood. Begging his pardon and his help, Elwood says she is marked for murder by the people who have killed her predecessors on the newspaper. Lockington becomes her bodyguard and bed partner. She is but one of many women eager for sex with the putative hero, whose libido is equaled only by his thirst for booze. Given the man's usual state, it is remarkable that he can follow the circuitous path of this sleazy mystery by the author of Death Wore Gloves.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Detective Sergeant Lacey Lockington, another in the growing ranks of middle-aged cops and private investigators, kills four hoodlums within two weeks. Stella Starbright (a.k.a. Erika Elwood) at the tabloid Chicago Sentinel picks up on the shootings, making things hot for Lacey, and ultimately causing his suspension. Someone starts murdering former "Stella Starbrights" and the cops suspect Lacey. Before his efforts uncover the "surprise" culprit's motivation, Lacey runs the typical gamut of sex, violence, and booze. A haphazard mixture tossed together, and more than a bit ordinary.-- REK
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.