WE'RE OFF TO SEE THE KILLER

Lackluster seventh outing for gambler/magician Shifty Lou Anderson (the excellent The King of the Nightcap, 1989, etc.), now spending a few months watching over the stables while horse trainer Charlie Pickard recovers from bypass surgery and trying to make sense of horse owner Roger Baldwin's insistence on having smarmy jockey Daryl Spencer up on his ponies. The Vegas Sports Books go crazy, and it's obvious that dirty dealing (money laundering?) is going on. Meanwhile, a small-time hustler, a phone-for-sex girl, and a repulsive goon die as Shifty scrutinizes track tote boards and ogles the lewd activities staged by Baldwin associate Gene Aramis and his heavy-betting, sultry pal Alma (who steals Shifty's most recent love, May, from him). There'll be two horse calamities- -and more—but Shifty will still handicap a few Del Mar winners before things wrap up. Magic tricks and quirky characters galore, but Shifty's soured romance makes him testy company. Moreover, there's surprisingly loose—and dull—writing from the usually adroit Murray, whose plot this time around runs well out of the money.