The sixth volume in the late Jack Lynch’s 1980s detective series starring Pete Bragg is Truth or Die. I like Pete Bragg more and more because a) he’s pre-Woke, and b) he seems to be smoking less pot these days.

Pete’s relationship with his girlfriend, the artist Allison, is developing well, in spite of her reservations about his career as a private eye. He’s keeping a promise to her as Truth or Die begins, spending a weekend with her at the Monterey Jazz Festival. It’s a little awkward, though, when one of the people they run into is Jo Sommers, a beautiful woman Pete used to flirt with in his bartending days. Jo seems to be a compulsive flirt, and Pete can’t deny the attraction, even though she’s married to a prominent local psychologist.

Then the psychologist turns up dead, smothered with a pillow in his den. Jo is arrested for the murder, and appeals to Jack to clear her. Allison gives him limited permission. Pete’s not sure Jo didn’t actually kill her husband, but he soon uncovers evidence leading to old military secrets, secret tapes, and blackmail. Then Allison is endangered, and we get to see Pete in full Lone Ranger mode.

Lots of fun. Not much to object to except for extramarital sex, which seems almost chaste these days. I enjoyed Truth or Die.