Practice to Deceive — David Housewright

In his Edgar Award -- winning first novel, Penance, David Housewright introduced readers to Holland Taylor, a wisecracking, martial arts -- practicing, exotic coffee -- drinking, cynical ex-cop turned Pl. Now Taylor takes on an unpromising embezzlement case--an elderly woman has been cheated out of her life savings. But when he tracks down Levering Field, the oily man who handled her account, he discovers a web of fraud and intrigue. Computer records reveal a list of prominent people who have invested in Field's operations. Now a lot more is on the line, including millions of dollars, the reputations of the city's most powerful people, and even Holland Taylor's own life ...