Jake "Under" Underman and his best friend Paulie were hooked on old black-and-white movies as kids, acting out the parts of hardboiled detectives and punks, cool bums and even cooler cops. Before long it became habit, and the boys grew up to be modern throwbacks to the 30s and 40s. When a mystery unfolds in the weary old town of WillowPoint, Under and Paulie deliver tight dialogue to accompany a string of unsettling discoveries involving teenagers, heroin, and dead bodies. Soon Under finds himself wondering who to trust and even begins to doubt his pal Paulie, the copper who brought him into the case. Of course there's also a broad in the picture-the lovely Maggie. She and the other characters are as important to the story as the plot of this crisp, funny, fast-paced novel. After all, they're the ones who line up the shots while jazz plays softly in the background and Under says, "Hey, kid, look-it's the money shot!