MONTECITO HEIGHTS

In Campbell’s (Jamaica Plain, 2013, etc.) second book in his Resurrection Man series, a gritty detective steps through the looking glass of Los Angeles' porn industry and nearly loses his way.

Fresh from a controversial stint in Boston that earned him the nickname Resurrection Man, Yorkshire cop Jim Grant hits Los Angeles, where Sen. Dick Richards hires him to rescue his headstrong daughter, Angelina, from her nascent career as a porn star. (Her most recent film: Hunt for Pink October.) Grant is drawn to Richards' British wife, Maura, though her aloofness puzzles him. He agrees to the job and promises discretion, a vow that is immediately tested when attractive producer Robin Citrin pitches Grant a reality show, with him as the star. The smitten Grant accepts the gig as "the next Steven Seagal!" and falls into bed with Robin, all the while making small advances toward finding Angelina. Richards is none too happy with Grant's high TV profile but doesn't pull the plug on his investigation. Posing as an aspiring porn actor, Grant visits Zed Productions for an audition. His probe brings him into the orbit of drug kingpin Rodrigo Dominguez, who may or may not have kidnapped Angelina. Grant seems more bemused by the incongruity of a drug cartel moonlighting as kidnappers than intimidated by Dominguez's threats. And the deeper Grant digs, the more irregularities he finds in the Richards home.

Prolific Campbell layers an abundance of interesting movie trivia into the tale, and while the plot is shaggy, wry maverick Grant never fails to entertain.