Cheap as Beasts — Jon Wilson

Like most soldiers, Declan Colette lost his fair share in the war -- in his case a sailor, drowned off Iwo Jima. Since then he's been scratching out a living as a cut-rate PI, drinking too much, and flirting with danger. Then a girl arranges to consult him, only to be murdered en route, and the cops tag Colette as their prime suspect. To save his neck he'll need to find the real killer, a quest that pits him against a rival detective firm, a dangerously rich family, and a desperate foe whose murdering ways started back during the war.

Could this be the case he's been waiting for? Catching the killer could make his reputation. Failing, could cost him his life.

Either way: win-win.