MONEY TROUBLE

When Gregg Longo, a supposed bank-robber on the lam, is shot to death by Omaha cops, his bewildered widow Carolyn turns for help to her old flame Ivan Nebraska, freelance writer and part-time gumshoe (The Nebraska Quotient). Carolyn, swearing that Gregg was no criminal, asks Nebraska to clear her husband's name. Or, if it turns out that Gregg was guilty, she'd like to know where he hid the bank loot--which no one's been able to find. Nebraska quickly learns that Gregg--a compulsive gambler--certainly had some shady contacts: a girlfriend/hooker who specializes in leather and whips; a couple of thugs; a crocked lawyer; a big-time loanshark. Moreover, the shamus is intrigued when his inquiries in the Longo case overlap with his shadowing of an adulterous husband in an unrelated divorce case. And, meanwhile, despite his strong relationship with girlfriend Koosje (a psychologist), Nebraska finds himself providing sexual comfort to the shaken--if increasingly money-minded--widow Longo. Wisecracking narration, a few jolts of action, and too many talky stretches: humdrum but serviceable fare for undemanding devotees of the hard-boiled genre.