THE MUSIC LOVERS

Hired to investigate the theft of audiophile Leon Tubin's treasured LPs—really to pin it on rival collector Sherwood Loeffler- -Harry Stoner runs into a rash of felonies: the thief returns twice more (attacking Harry when he's caught in the act) before a final confrontation leaves Leon badly beaten and his longtime lover, rock singer Sheila Mozkowski, kidnapped. And there's more: Sheila, who's evidently been another shared passion among Leon's audiophile buddies, has had an enormous bankroll stashed in her freezer, and the guy who probably grabbed her, a rocker with the face of Richard Wagner, is wanted for murder. Taking Loeffler and street-musician Philo Ives (still another of Sheila's lovers) along for the ride, Harry tracks Sheila's old bandmate down to a Kentucky racetrack and a final, predictable twist. After the concentrated tension of Extenuating Circumstances and Second Chance, this is almost a holiday for Harry—but it's carried off with all Valin's customary professionalism.