Gloria White. Death Notes (2005) 256 pp.
Publisher’s description: “When [private investigator] Ronnie [Ventana] invites her friend and mentor Blackie Coogan to join her at the comeback concert of Match Margolis, the greatest tenor sax and jazz composer alive, she is not expecting a final—very final—performance. Match seems to owe money all around town, but some very powerful figures illogically don’t seem to want to call in the debt. Much to the annoyance of Lieutenant Philly Post, Ronnie is retained by Sharon, Match’s flamboyant and younger second wife, and finds herself entwined with San Francisco’s shady underworld as the mystery deepens. Death strikes again, and Ronnie herself is in real danger. But from whom? And where and when will the murderer next strike?”