Engrossing noir about a part time auto mechanic who does private detective work being drawn by his police detective brother-in-law into the mystery of a double murder rather than his usual skip tracing jobs. Lacy weaves the story of the investigation together with chapters about the villains, who started out by making extra money illegally while in the Army in WW II Europe. It is almost as if there are two books here, the parts are so different. It also kills the suspense--who done it becomes why done it becomes how will they catch them? Still, the book succeeds because of its characters: the widowed mechanic/detective and his loving relationship with his six year old daughter; the blind wrestler; the beautiful young wife of the murdered cop; a prostitute and her pimp; the police detective in charge of the case. Lacy brings all of these characters and their environment to life so well that they just about jump off the page. You care about what happens because of how it affects the characters, and when the book is over you feel you are leaving behind a bunch of pretty good acquaintances. As far as I can tell from a quick search through his other books on my Kindle, Lacy never wrote another book featuring Barney, his mechanic/detective. That is a real shame. ( )