Richard Rayner, Devil's Wind

Devil's Wind

Richard Rayner

HarperCollins, Feb 2005, $24.95

ISBN: 0066212928

In 1956 California, highly regarded Los Angeles architect Maurice Valentine feels he rid himself of his past, culminated when he changed identity from Maurizio Viglioni after coming home from World War II battle fatigued. Instead, he Anglicized his name, married a wealthy senator's daughter, and has connections in politics and with the mob. Maurice is going places, perhaps in DC.

At a party, the womanizing Maurice meets self-claimed heiress Mallory Walker, who seduces him; for the first time in years he wants more. However, he is stunned when Mallory fires a shot at him. Not long afterward, she is found dead in what appears to be a car accident. However, Maurice knows how sly and deadly his connections are; he wonders if Mallory was murdered and begins making inquiries though he knows that is a mistake. He has to know why she wanted him dead. Soon he will find a strange twist involving an obsessed actress and soon to be someone else's wife Beth Dyer, who sends him seeking Vegas mobster Paul Mantinelli at a gala celebrating the latest atomic bomb test.

The storyline is action-packed, very graphic (the scene with the bomb exploding nearby is brilliant), and contains strong characters. The twists and turns will initially shock the audience, but quickly make sense as no one is quite like they seem; just ask Viglioni in his Valentine persona. Richard Rayner provides a wonderful, historical (makes me feel ancient to say the 1950s in a historical context) Noir that pays homage to the Barbara Stanwick femme fatale movies.

Harriet Klausner