The main protagonist, Mitchell Sutton, is an honest, hard working family man in Los Angeles. He is a used car salesman and does well for his wife Claire, and their twin offspring, a boy and girl. Claire is a decent looking woman whom he met in Iowa when she was very young. As with all woman after they marry and have children, middle age sets in and the trajectory of attraction slows to a crawl and then moves downward very quickly. Claire is no exception and Mitch knows it.
To escape the monotony of his mundane life, Mitch frequents a local bar near where he works. Not a dive joint but a respectable saloon where men could sit, have a drink, and ponder what might have been had they made different decisions in life. The bartender, Ed, is always there to lend a sympathetic ear. Sort of a substitute priest in a confessional booth who soothed your conscience with a Scotch and soda instead of ordering you to say ten Hail Marys which you never said anyways. All harmless in the larger scheme of wandering off the monogamous path of life.
Enter Jane. There are so many words that could describe her accurately: vixen, gold digger, tramp, femme fatale, hussy, and, well, whore. And she is the type of woman who would wear each label proudly and be the first one to tell you. She starts a steamy affair with poor Mitch who gets from Jane what his poor wife Claire could never give him: the taste of eroticism from the wild side. The type of stimulation that men dream about but never realize. And the women providing that experience know it.
Mitch, of course, has a job and a family to support. But he cannot resist the temptation. Jane expects a certain standard from the suckers she beds and Mitch is no exception. He buys a Cadillac to impress her. Then a getaway vacation masquerading as a business trip. You can sense the seams starting to burst. But not what you would expect.
Enter Ernest Worth. Mitch’s boss and owner of the used car dealership where he works. An older bachelor who gives his salesmen a lot of leeway so long as they produce. He is fabulously wealthy. He decides to take a two week business trip to San Francisco. On his return he announces to his staff that he has gotten married and wants to introduce the lucky lady to his employees and acquaintances. And that lucky lass is none other than . . .Jane!!
Our poor schlep Mitch is in a state of shock, as he should be. But no need to worry. Why let a recent marriage get in the way of calling off an affair. The hijinks continue. The only twist is that Jane is now having an affair with Mitch's co-worker. But Ernest is no fool. He knew what he bargained for. He catches Jane and Mitch in pari delicto at his house and calls in a witness to see the entire spectacle unfold. Jane is of course non-plussed by the whole set-up. Mitch figures his life as he knows it is over. But wait! Ernest blesses the arrangement. Mitch leaves the house. He gets a call from a local police officer and is told that Ernest is dead. Mitch is the chief suspect as the evidence against his is quite damning. He gets arrested, hires a smart lawyer, admits everything to his wife, and contemplates his life from a jail cell. He gets a visit from Jane, now the beneficiary of a life insurance policy and all of Ernest's money. There are a lot of twists and turns but by the end, the hard working gumshoes along with Mitch's lawyer agree to set up a meeting with Jane. The end result is that Ernest committed suicide, Jane found him dead, and played along that it was Mitch's doing so she could inherit his money. Mitch is free and his wife still loves him.
The twists and turns are a bit much but it is worth the ride. For the genre and that it does not pretend to be anything more than a 1950's pulp novel, I give it five stars.
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