While visiting his folks in Florida, Holland is touched by the sad tale of a former Minnesota neighbor, the elderly Mrs. Gustafson, who was bilked out of her retirement savings by a self-proclaimed financial expert. After reviewing her financial papers, Holland sadly tells his father that while the man’s actions were despicable, he will probably get away with it legally. His father admonishes Holland to do the right thing and get Mrs. Gustafson’s money back, “by hook or by crook.” And so that’s just what Holland sets out to do.

Returning to Minneapolis, Holland arranges a face-to-face meeting with financial planner Levering Field and confirms that the man is indeed as slimy as his actions. Field brags that his assets are protected, and even if they take him to civil court, by the time things are settled, chances are Mrs. Gustafson will have passed away from old age.

So Holland teams up with a cross-dressing computer genius and turns to the Dirty Tricks section of the P.I. handbook. Together, they plan to annoy and embarrass Fields into doing the right thing. They list Fields’ house for sale, advertise in the personals, erase credit, cut off the heat -- basically every nasty low-down trick you’d ever heard of! Holland doesn’t expect much response, but action makes him feel better and he figures the end justifies the means.

Much to Holland’s amazement, Field soon calls and agrees to return the money. He could put up with the harassment, but the final straw was the death threat. Holland is confused, since he never threatened Field, but figures he’s accomplished his goal and sets up the meeting to reclaim Mrs. Gustafson’s money. He walks in to find -- yes, Field dead on the floor and of course the money is gone, gone, gone. Guess who now is the number one suspect?

It’s great fun watching Holland extricate himself from a murder where there seems to be no shortage of suspects, disgruntled customers and hostile family members. Whether rotten or good, the characters are believably drawn, the pace is lively and the ending is unexpected.

Practice to Deceive is altogether an enjoyable addition to the P.I. world.

Reviewed by

--K. W. Becker