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MUSCLEBOUND by Liza Cody

MUSCLEBOUND

By

Pub Date: Sept. 10th, 1997
Publisher: Mysterious

Down but not out, that's Eva Wylie, the erstwhile London Lassassin who's been barred from wrestling because she had too much pride in her work to wear the ridiculous getup the omnipotent promoter Daddy (""Dirty"") Deeds wanted her to wear. Eva's so close to the dole that she's even had to take a job for The Enemy, Anna Lee of Lee-Schiller Security, guarding a lot-full of the Ferraris she'd rather be hotwiring and driving off. On her way home from getting fired (naturally) by The Enemy, Eva runs into a spot of luck--an unlocked red Carlton containing a sportsbag stuffed with Bank of England notes. Even better, her beloved sister Simone, who's had all too little to do with Eva from the time Simone was put up for adoption on through her mini-triumphs as a men's magazine model, has picked now of all times to pop up in Eva's life again. Eva waxes rhapsodic--""If I had Simone behind me, Simone to watch me, I could do it all--be the London Lassassin again""--until their viperish mother descends on the pair, the driver of the Carlton comes looking for the person who pinched his dosh, and an unexpectedly violent outburst and a series of nasty surprises make Eva sorry she didn't stick to borrowing cars that weren't equipped with a cash bonus. Like Eva's earlier appearances (Monkey Wrench, 1995, etc.), this third one tends to run down instead of winding up--but when you're dealing with as obtuse and sensitive a heroine as unforgettable Eva, whose main function is to register experiences rather than analyze them, that's probably inevitable.