The Nature of Things

Murder by Parnell Hall My rating: 3 of 5 stars Stanley Hastings is a hoot. This actor/writer/private detective wannabe has failed at just about everything he's tried in life, but with a stay-at-home wife and son to support, he keeps plugging away, trying to earn enough to stay ahead of the debt collectors. His most steady job is that of sign-up interviewer with an ambulance-chasing law firm. His assignment is to meet with potential clients who have been injured, interview them about what happened, get them to sign a commitment form, and take it all back to his employer, Richard Rosenberg, for a decision about whether he will take the case. His job takes him all over New York, but in this entry to the series, it seems to take him mostly to Harlem, to some very sketchy neighborhoods where he is constantly afraid of being beaten up. This book was originally published in 1987 and it seems very dated in many ways, in its attitudes but particularly in technology. Stanley carries a beepe...

Detective by Parnell Hall My rating: 3 of 5 stars Failed actor, failed writer Stanley Hastings finds himself inexplicably in a role that he never anticipated playing or writing about - private detective. But the truth is, he isn't a REAL private detective, even though he possesses a license that says he is and an office with "Private Detective" on the door. What he really is is an ambulance chaser for a lawyer who specializes in personal injury lawsuits. Stanley goes out to interview the potential client and signs them up to be represented by his boss. He is really the most pathetic excuse for a P.I. But Martin Albrecht doesn't know that when he sees Stanley's office with its "Private Detective" sign. He walks in and tries to hire Stanley for a real case in which he would serve as a bodyguard because Mr. Albrecht believes someone is trying to kill him. Stanley turns him away, but, sadly, Albrecht's suspicions were spot on. The next day Stanley reads...