Penthouse

Larry Beinhart’s rollicking, satiric novel American Hero became the hit movie Wag the Dog, which in turn became shorthand for political deception and duplicity. Now he’s back with an old-fashioned mystery story – with a typical burned-out private investigator as its hero – that quickly becomes a very atypical witches brew of sex, religion, hypocrisy, and evil in which the war on terror is cynically manipulated to subvert America’s basic values. If, at first, this engrossing thriller seems to be a bit over the top, a quick check of the day’s news will make you think again.