Ex-USC football star, ex-soldier, and present-day jobless loafer Pete Worden punches out a man after a successful craps game and finds himself involved in murder and a host of other complex shenanigans. The cast of characters is huge, Pete's older brother, who controls the family fortune and doles his share out to him at a measly $100 per week until he gets a job, Pete's saintly sister-in-law, Pete's knock-out girlfriend who really wants him to take a job so they can get married, Pete's pulp fiction writing neighbor, Nick - the racketeer who says he wants to go straight, Nick's two sons, Jake the bookie, Mary the girl Pete lusted after in high school but never spoke to, a straight arrow police sergeant, and a few more to boot. The male characters are all pretty well fleshed out and complex; the women are described mostly in terms of their looks. This is a book stuck firmly in 1950 Los Angeles, both geographically and attitudinally. Current events--the Korean War, the Rams-Bears game--play a key part in the narrative. It is a story well told and one that engaged me from beginning to end, but it also feels dated and lacks the timeless quality of the best noir fiction, such as Chandler and Hammett. The mystery is good, however, and the ending is well plotted--at least, I didn't guess it. I can't agree, however, with Ed Gorman's assessment that Gault "wrote the best private eye novel of his generation." Nor is this really a private eye novel. Pete Worden is an amateur at best. Still, this was a good read with no real lags or dull moments. Pete's observations as first person narrator aren't always made with the best judgment - but they never fail to entertain. ( )