The Wicked by Carter Brown, an Al wheeler mystery.
This book is part of 4, all of which I own, from what I could tell this seems to be the first book, I’ll read the other 3 and find out. … I loved this book, didn’t dive into each character too much, only enough so you know what is happening. Action all the way. Smooth talking gangsters, guns, dame’s. Al is hired by the leading lady as a PI to find out who murdered the screenwriter.
Police Lieutenant who smokes and drinks too much and flirts with every dame in town. … ‘unorthodox’ LA Lieutenant Al Wheeler investigates the murder of a screenwriter of a western who made enemies of the cast and crew by writing a series of kiss and tell articles for a gossip magazine. Al knows that the cop who found the body is hiding something and soon there are dead bodies aplenty while our hero falls for the leading lady — and pretty much every other dame in town! …
