GETTING MINE

Less hard-edged than in her debut, Hush, Money (1989), California claims-investigator Moz Brant now wonders whether a reported traffic accident is really a scam: one passenger is conveniently missing; another uses a back-brace only when someone's watching; and two others, including a doctor, are clearly colluding in their lies. Then LaDonna Treece, sans back-brace, suspiciously OD's; Paulette, the bookkeeper at her doctor's office, suddenly disappears (with several computer disks); and Moz is almost killed when a cowboy-hatted thug forces her off the road. What began as a simple accident claim, then, becomes a matter of murder—undertaken to protect an insurance rip-off partnership, as well as to subsidize a porno-art collection. Testy, pugnacious Moz is more interesting than her assignment, but, still, Femling's driving style and unsentimental viewpoint make this an above-average read.