The King of the Night Cap - Hardcover

Shifty Lou Anderson, cardplayer, magician and racetrack habitue, is back in Murray's ( Tip on a Dead Crab ) latest ingenious caper. When a track errand-runner disappears with a bundle of cash, Shifty and his sidekick Jay Fox follow his trail to Tijuana. There, instead of recovering his loot, Shifty finds that he is part owner of a broken-down horse named Fred's Folly. This twist draws him into investigating a web of scams involving the drugging of horses and the smuggling of priceless Mayan artifacts across the border inside gorilla masks. The colorful cast includes a transsexual Mexican hooker, a female jockey from Texas, a porno movie producer and regulars at the races. New Yorker staff writer Murray brings uncommon literary flair to his tangy evocation of lowlife as he shuttles between Mexico and L.A. Fast, funny and furious, this labyrinthine puzzler starts out a bit shakily but sprints to a satisfying finish.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Submersion in the day-to-day world of racetrack and betting life marks the reappearance of Lou "Shifty" Anderson ( Tip on a Dead Crab ), prestidigitator by trade and gambler by inclination. Anderson follows "Fingers" Pendleton to the races in Tijuana, hoping to recover cash the man "borrowed . " What little plot exists, however, centers on Lou's discoveries of irregularities involving third-rate horses, second-rate porn movies, and first-rate antiquities smugglers. The lengthy, slow start will probably discourage all but racing fans and those who follow the author's "Letters from Italy" in The New Yorker. Lots of talk, but little action.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.