A murder investigation at a high-priced hotel reveals a deadly plot reaching the highest seats of powerThey call the pool at the Beverly Glen Hotel “the naked hooker.” To the frustration of the Beverly Hills police department, the women there are so high class that it’s impossible to distinguish guests and girlfriends from professionals. Women flock to the lavish hotel because it teems with film stars, businessmen—and America’s richest criminals. Tonight, to detective Masao Masuto’s chagrin, there is the body of a naked man in the pool. Though the management insists the death was accidental, Masuto doubts that any man would hide his own clothes before taking a midnight swim. The woman who reported the body is gone by the time the police reach her room, and the man they find there, Jack Stillman, insists there was nobody staying with him. The next day Stillman is dead, and Masao Masuto has a killing spree to deal with—one that leads to a tangled web of espionage and international conspiracy. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author’s estate.

From Library JournalSince 1977, Fast (The Bridge Builder's Story, LJ 9/1/95) has been spinning tales about one immigrant family, the Lavettes of California, focusing on Barbara Lavette, whose marriages and adventures illustrate the astonishing changes in American life during the 20th century. In the sixth and final book in the series, Fast portrays Barbara's last love affair, with an ex-Jesuit whose spirituality and naivete provide rich material for a master storyteller. Their romance blossoms as the younger generation copes with a multitude of problems. Fast has a good ear for dialog, and most of the story develops in conversations. For readers exhausted by literary extremes, this novel is like an oasis, easy on the spirit. Fans will snap up this final installment, so every fiction collection will want it.-?Barbara Conaty, Lib. of CongressCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistIn the finale to his successful Immigrants series, Howard Fast reunites us with Barbara Lavette, now the matriarch of her fascinating, tangled family. What makes this family so beguiling is its diversity in both ethnicity and character, for the people are drawn with imagination and insight. Barbara is the rock, the one to counsel and console. One night, a prowler breaks into her house; Barbara yields her jewels but not before asking the young black man, since he is obviously educated, why he became a criminal. He explains that in spite of his education, he is a janitor. When he leaves, Barbara decides not to report the incident because she cannot in good conscience send this young man to prison--it would go against her lifelong liberal principles. When he is caught with her jewelry pieces the next day, she insists that she gave them to the young man, and her family knows better than to quarrel with her. What ensues is a beautiful, intriguing story of one woman's final years of life, involving family, friends, a new lover, and the face of death. Fast is an exceptional storyteller, whether expressing sublime moments of happiness or describing events as ordinary as someone making dinner. This is a wonderful novel. Mary Frances Wilkens

Detective Masuto reopens an investigation into a murderous film star—with deadly consequencesOn the day that Eve Mackenzie murders her husband, Masao Masuto is on a plane to Japan. For years he and his wife, both American-born Japanese, have dreamed of visiting their homeland, and though the trip is a delight, the Zen Buddhist detective cannot help but check the international papers for news of murder on his home turf of Beverly Hills. Part of him regrets missing the sensational Mackenzie killing. Once a high-profile film star, Eve faded from the public eye after wedding a wealthy Scotsman—an unhappy marriage that ended in bloodshed. When Masuto returns home, Eve is headed toward an inevitable conviction. Why, then, does he reopen the case? The evidence against the Hollywood starlet is so airtight that Masuto suspects a frame-up. As he pries into the closed case, more blood spills. Eve Mackenzie may not have murdered her husband, but she is far from innocent. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author’s estate.