Copp for Hire

September 30, 1987
Pendleton is the author of 100 paperback originals, the Executioner series, which sell in the millions. Here he introduces private eye Joe Copp, narrator of a novel that demands the "neutral stomach'' he boasts. The murders of nudie girl performers in Los Angeles sleaze joints are the basis for the plot and Copp's link to Linda Shelton. Sporting only cowboy boots and hat, Linda cavorts on the runway to pay for her education as a psychologist. At Copp's home, she wears even less, until someone hiding outside tries to kill them by firing rounds of ammunition through the one-way picture window. When the girl vanishes later, the detective traces her to Hawaii where rich Jim Davitsky provides women in a ``talent pool'' to high U.S. government officials. Protected by corrupt cops, Davitsky tortures and kills the prostitutes, recording the outrages on film. Numerous scenes of violence and tension should suit fans of the raw shocker if Copp's flaunting self-image as a ``hard case,'' invincible macho, doesn't put them off.