The Black Marble by Wambaugh, Joseph

Light shelfwear to edges and covers. Bookstore stamp inside. Pages tight and clean but yellowed due to age. Spine has light creases and tilt. 416 pages. MMP Binding. Year: 1979. ISBN: 0440106478. Sergeant Valnikov was a damned good cop. Wrapped in a yellow slicker, wrapped around a bottle of vodka, he was running in place from a nineteen-year-old nightmare. Natalie Zimmerman was a twice-divorced lady detective nursing a grudge against men and a strong suspicion that her partner was always drunk or crazy-or both. In the Hollywood madness of big-time dog shows, in the fading splendor of once-high society, they fought crime, boredom, and each other-and in each other found more than they had ever hoped for.