A hard-boiled private investigator in ‘70s-era Boston is drawn into the slimy underbelly of the city’s powerful and elite in this darkly comic detective novel.

Victor Answan is hired by disbarred attorney Bill Holmes, whose “unique license…was transferable to his wife, Monica…”; the couple routinely leaned on Victor “to do the work and they would take the credit.” Bill, concerned about a hit on a “special shipment” arriving at Connelly Pier, wants Victor to oversee the delivery. Simultaneously, Monica, now divorced from Bill, doesn’t trust him and tells Victor, “I want to make sure I get my share.”

The Holmes’ situation, Victor quickly realizes, is entwined with the case of John Long, who suspects his wife is cheating on and stealing from him. Complicating matters is John’s loot: $5 million in cash obtained from skimming the register of the bar where he works. And Victor learns that John also works for Bill.

This fairly straightforward story becomes impossibly tangled as numerous new characters arrive, including dancers at the strip club Victor frequents. Additionally, Victor, of mixed Asian descent, gets roped into attending an event for Senate candidate Karen Todd to add color to the mix; meanwhile, Karen falsely claims to be Native American. The story also draws in Boston’s crime syndicate — and much more.

Brooks immerses readers in a seedy Boston, but excessive tangents derail the narrative. A Prologue purportedly written by Victor warns: “you’ll find educational value in this book and you should read my story with the curiosity of an engaged reader.” This seems like an ill-fated attempt to justify the difficulty readers will later experience as their confusion grows.

Many female readers will take offense at Victor’s endless bedding of random women and his stripper friends-with-benefits. Also, careless errors abound; for example, the Yiddish word schlemiel is spelled schlemeal and schelmeal.

The book offers skilled writing throughout, but it’s lost among the clutter. If Brooks pared back the story, the series could recover with a focused sequel.