As She Rides By: A V. (Vic) Daniel Mystery (First Edition)

V. (for Vic) Daniel, Los Angeles private investigator, is back - six feet seven inches, wearing loud Hawaiian shirts, and driving a classic pink-and-blue Nash Metropolitan - and he is at the top of his form. Now his precious peace and quiet is threatened by a theatre de porn being built next to his office, something up with which our hero will not put! At the same time he has been hired to protect a burly florist scheduled to testify against some horticultural hoods and check out the background of a seemingly honest record producer.
It's all in a day's work for our private eye. Assembling his team of crack (or cracked) agents to help in his various schemes, V. Daniel uncovers nefarious goings on and defends against attacks on his peace and quiet - all in his inimitable style. Vic Daniel - a classic P.I. for our times.

Thrills and yuks in seamless tandem can often be found in good crime writing, but Pierce and his terminally smart-mouthed L.A. detective, Vic Daniel (Write Me a Letter), don't get the mix right this time out. In a plot held together with the narrative equivalent of baling wire and Krazy Glue, Vic's voice is hopelessly labored and cute. The lanky, 6'7" PI has several challenges on his hands. First, two aging British rock stars want him to check out an aspiring record producer. Second, a porn palace is scheduled to be constructed next to his office. Finally, a gay florist would like two hoods waylaid so he can testify in court; this is the lightest of the assembled premises and, thankfully, the first to be resolved. But none of the cases generates much in the way of suspense. Pierce cuts away often for a weak laugh before a sudden and awkward onset of plot complexity-mostly concerning the record producer and his wife-carries things to a conclusion.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Survivors of V. (Vic) Daniel's two previous hardcover exploits (Write Me a Letter, 1993, etc.) already know whether they want to continue their relationship with the relentlessly jokey stringbean. Uninitiates needing guidance are advised that this time V. takes on the Pussycat Adult Cinema chain, which proposes to install an outlet next door to his office; the enemies and obstacles to the comeback of washed-up singing duo Tom 'n' Jerry; and the author of a suspiciously fatal drive-by mugging. As usual, Pierce takes all the conventions of the private-eye novel--threatening hoods, corrupt corporations, the detective's loyal team, the big score--and refracts them as labored farce. A hilariously good time is had by all the characters, though readers are left to fend pretty much for themselves. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.