The Black Marble Author:Joseph Wambaugh Sergeant Valnikov was a damned good cop. Wrapped in a yellow slicker, wrapped around a bottle of vodka, he was running in place from a nineteen-year-old nightmare. — Natalie Zimmerman was a twice-divorced lady detective nursing a grudge against men and a strong suspicion that her partner was always drunk or crazy -- or both. — In the Hollywood mad... more »ness of big-time dog shows, in the fading splendor of once-high society, they fought crime, boredom, and each other -- and in each other found more than they had ever hoped for.« less
Wambaugh is always great and this book is no different. A super good and fast read. It's a story about a burned out homicide detective too close to the bottle and headed downhill from there. It was tough to lay it down.
This was the first of this author's books I've read and I really got into the characters which are developed gradually. The detectives, romance, intrigue, humor. I think this may have been the inspiration for the TV series Barney Miller, which I was really into. I liked it. It was funny and hooked me into the story line. Enjoy!