SPIT IN THE OCEAN

Oakland shamus Jake Samson and lesbian sidekick Rosie (Samson's Deal, Free Draw, Full House) head north to the wet, cold seacoast town of Wheeler, Calif.--where the North Coast Sperm Bank has just been brutally burglarized: someone broke in, stole thousands of sperm samples from the freezers, and then dumped them in the ocean! Whodunit--and why? Most of the locals suspect teen-age vandals or religious fanatics. But Jake and Rosie aren't convinced--especially when Sperm Bank clerk Grace Piedmont falls (?) off a cliff during a big storm. And their investigation soon zeroes in on Grace's shabby family, on Sperm Bank owner Nora Canfield (whose castoff suitor was Grace's fiance), and on two celebrity-residents--romance novelist Melody Clift (whom Jake beds) and movie-biggie Marty Spiegal (a Sperm Bank client). Layers of revelation eventually lead to a far-fetched tangle of unpersuasive motives and unlikely actions. But, if this is slighter and more contrived than Singer's best, it's modestly pleasurable nonetheless--thanks to Jake's unforced warm/wry narration, the California-coast atmosphere, and a vividly sketched supporting cast (including a non-dumb local sheriff and a manic, surly cookie-maker).