Gone, No Forwarding

Very enjoyable work in the DKA series. When I'm looking for a dose of reality - detective fiction that doesn't completely outstrip the bounds of the real world, I turn to Gores. His set of methodical investigators and the detail with which he describes their searches, in this case for a few ex-employees needed to testify in a hearing that could cost the detective agency its license, is fascinating. The courtroom scenes are particularly good. I'm not sure that every plot twist and explanation at the end really holds up under close examination, however.

It was a pretty good story, but it hasn't held up well. Pretty racist characterizations of black people! The story is of a detective agency being set up to lose their license. The how and why is a bit convoluted, but still entertaining (except for the racism).

I like the early DKA File novels, because they seem to me to give a more realistic picture of private eye work than the glamorous fictional coventions. I understand Gores had experience as a PI himself. Some later novels in the series (32 Cadillacs)_become less credible.