Just how ready he isn't sure when Fritz Stern, a violinist with the NBC orchestra walks in and announces that the orchestra's conductor, the famed Arturo Toscanini, has been missing for several weeks and a dead ringer has taken the helm at the orchestra. Stern wants LeVine to find out who took Toscanini and why. Stern is convinced the NBC executives are in on the disappearance and hires LeVine on behalf of a dozen orchestra members who are also convinced a switch has occurred.

LeVine starts out his investigation in the NBC offices on Rockefeller Plaza where Sidney Aaron claims to have a ransom note demanding money for the maestro's release. From there, LeVine finds himself on a plane to Cuba and from there to a newly emerging desert town, namely Las Vegas.

Every step of the way, LeVine is shadowed by mobsters, including the famed Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky. He is also bothered by the fact that even if he finds Toscanini, he is having a hard time putting his finger on why anyone would replace the conductor and why people around him keep dropping dead.

Tender is LeVine is a first-rate PI novel, reminiscent of the great detective novels of the early twentieth century. After many years away, Jack is back and hasn't lost his edge. He is very funny without being goofy and is tough when warranted, but is also more willing to let his softer side show now and again. The pace of the mystery is quick and the dialogue is snappy, helping to propel the story line along. The atmosphere Andrew Bergman has created, from the newly paneled office to the steamy Havana hotel to the streets of New York City in the early fifties, is authentic and draws the reader in immediately.

This is a quick, laugh aloud mystery that will leave readers sorry it is over so soon. Jack LeVine is a welcome addition to traditional private eyes of the previous century.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry