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The North Beach Regulars
Jacob 'Jake' Diamond...Born and raised in Brooklyn, Jake was the son of a radical Journalist and an elementary school teacher. Graduating from the Theatre Program at City College of New York, Jake started his acting career on the stages of Off-Off Broadway. Moving to Los Angeles to take a crack at the movie industry, Jake found himself landing small roles in smaller films. When Jake met Santa Monica private investigator Jimmy Pigeon, Diamond decided to trade his SAG card for a PI license. After learning the ropes with Jimmy in Southern California, Jake moved to San Francisco to set up his own shop and Diamond Investigation on Columbus Avenue in North Beach was up and crawling.
Darlene Roman...A home-grown San Franciscan with a heart as big as a double-wide and a flair for wit and sarcasm, Darlene is Jake's trusty associate and the brains behind keeping the business afloat. Darlene stays busy juggling the bills, while trying to keep Jake out of trouble and off cholesterol.
Vinnie 'Strings' Stradivarius...Always very eager to help, though not very good at it, Vinnie Strings was a parting gift to Jake from Jimmy Pigeon. Vinnie has a few serious gambling problems, usually associated with horse races, like not knowing when to stop and not knowing how to pick a winner. Strings will occasionally come up with an intelligent thought in spite of himself.
Joey Russo...One of Jake's first clients, Russo rewarded Jake's services with the bargain-priced rental of highly valued garage space for Diamond's prize 1963 Impala convertible. Originally wary of Joey's dubious connections, Jake comes to accept and soon rely on Russo's assistance in 'delicate' cases and the two begin to develop a close friendship as Jake begins to understand what friendship is all about.
Sonny 'The Chin' Badalamenti...Sonny is Joey Russo's son-in-law and loyal confidant. Sonny is always ready and willing to help Joey help Jake.
Sally French...Jake's first client, former wife, present steady date and occasional conscience.
Willie Dogtail...Diamond's Native American acquaintance from the Santa Monica days with Jimmy Pigeon, always prepared to provide sleeping accommodations and awful coffee for a paleface from the North.
Lieutenant Laura Lopez...A San Francisco police detective who likes Diamond the way she likes migraines and trusts him as far as she can throw him.
Sergeant Jefferson Johnson...A San Francisco police sergeant who works closely with Lopez, looks a lot like Godzilla, treats Diamond like something he scraped off his shoes, and always does the right thing.
Lieutenant Raymond 'Ray' Boyle...A Los Angeles homicide detective who does not count himself among Jake Diamond admirers.
Mary Falco Diamond...Jake's Italian mother, enough said.
Anthony 'Tony' Carlucci...Dubious character operating Carlucci's Ristorante on Columbus Avenue as well as other 'businesses' for his older brother, John 'Johnny Boy' Carlucci, a resident of San Quentin.
Bobby Senderowitz...Jake's cousin, stage name Rob Sanders, a movie actor with a tad more success. Bobby's Westwood apartment is Jake's home away from home when business takes Diamond down to LA.
Angelo Verdi...Constant ear-bender and Manager of the Italian delicatessen on Columbus Avenue, two floors below Jake's office.
Tom Romano...A San Francisco private investigator, head of TomRom Detective Agency and fellow participant in the bi-monthly Thursday night pinochle game.
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JAKE DIAMOND IS BACK
...out of the frying pan and into the line of fire.
COUNTING TO INFINITY
When a gun toting thug shows up at Jake Diamond's San Francisco office threatening Jake's assistant, Darlene, Jake knows he's in trouble - but has no idea how much trouble. Forced to visit Chicago in the dead of winter, Jake is hired by attorney Max Lansdale to locate a few ghosts; and Lansdale will not take no for an answer. Running between San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles, Jake tries to keep one step ahead of the hangman.
From Publishers Weekly on Clutching at Straws
A worthy successor to "Catching Water in a Net" (2001), Abramo's second in the San Francisco-based Jake Diamond PI series is a clever and well-crafted detective novel, gritty enough to satisfy hard-boiled readers but not so dark that it will put off more traditional mystery fans. Hired to break into a local judge's house and extract money and papers from a wall safe, Lefty Wright, a small-time thief, stumbles over the judge's corpse and is immediately surrounded by policemen. Wright later calls Diamond from prison, where he awaits trial for murder, and convinces the PI of his innocence. As Diamond proceeds with his investigation, the police, the governor and especially prosecuting attorney and DA candidate Lowell Ryder all make it very clear that they don't want him involved. When Wright is killed "trying to escape" en route to court, things get really interesting. Scrambling to make a case, Diamond trails crooked cops and even resurrects his dormant acting career to appear in a bit part in a movie to get close to a key suspect. Throughout the book, Diamond is reading Dumas's "The Count of Monte Cristo", which parallels his current case.
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