Jason Keltner... aspiring composer, is facing financial ruin--until he is hired to watch Paul Reno... When Paul steals a computer gizmo (a 90s version of the Maltese falcon), Keltner tries to retrieve the gizmo and keep Reno and others from death and injury. This odd yet appealing...mystery has dialogue that is equal parts Henny Youngman (the title is the punchline from a bit about cello players) and computerese. The characters are quirky yet sympathetic, and the mystery keeps readers curious to the end (although Snyder offers a confusing extra ending). This should appeal to those who liked Alan Fursts espionage gem Shadow Trade (1983). With its computer guys, snappy dialogue, car chases, and California backdrop, it suggests what might have happened if Hammet's Sam Spade had been a computer geek.

--John Rowen

(Ellipses represent inaccuracies which should be corrected by the time this review reaches print.)