LOOSE CANNON

Philip Page, a product of the flaming 80's, made millions in a scheme (with a now-dead Pakistani) buying and selling factories to Consol Electric with a promise of lucrative contracts for the product involved. But it all went sour, with Consol loosing big bucks and Page flying to California, leaving wife Marian and daughter Drusilla to be protected by longtime friend and mentor Henry Vyner. Now, three years later, Marian is dead, a suicide, and Page has been extradited back to London on the strength of documentary evidence of his chicanery, provided by an unknown source. One possible source is ex-cop John Raven's old friend and lawyer Patrick O'Callaghan, who claims innocence but is afraid of Page (one of Page's old connections has been found shot to death). Raven stows O'Callaghan in a safe place, gets to know Page, and arranges an ingenious trap that identifies the informer. A tricky assignment for Raven—at loose ends on his Thames houseboat (Raven's Shadow, etc.) since wife Kirstie is away—and a mildly intriguing puzzle for the reader.