Dames Can Be Deadly — Peter Chambers

When blackmailer Perry Sloan was murdered, nobody in Hollywood wept; not even Mark Preston, although the police found him with the corpse. Preston wandered through a world of odd characters like Panama Hat, and Lovely Lina, who might know something, and Julie, who might not, but who compensated in other ways. Movie stars, cops and columnists, all contributed to the furious pace. Others were to die before it finished, and Preston had to make certain he wasn't one of them.