Stand-Up — Robert J. Randisi

Life's good for Miles Jacoby: He's just been offered a partnership in a major investigatory agency in New York, his Village bar is becoming a popular watering hole, and he's got two cases.
First, he's hired to find out who stole Stan Waldrop's act - literally. The standup comic's new routine was on Waldrop's hard disk. Now it isn't. Soon, Waldrop isn't standing up, either.
At the same time, a murder suspect is playing dumb - being a stand-up guy and refusing to name names. Jacoby knows who isn't being named and has to find him before the name shows up in the obits.
Well, maybe life isn't all that good: These are not the cases that dreams are made of. They're dirty and deadly and the bread-and-butter of life on the mean streets - even those with comedy clubs on every corner.