Day Watch at Hollywood

Lieutenant John Luttwak, who appeared in two of the short-form books, now returns to Hollywood station to command his eight-man homicide squad.

Detective Jack Stiles is a 38-year-old career cop with a stellar record of service. He’s a former college tight end, fast and tough, capable of body-slamming and cuffi ng a suspect twice his size.

Stiles’ partner, Traci Little, a former patrol offi cer with plenty of street smarts has now advanced to the Homicide squad. She and Stiles are Luttwak’s most intuitive detective unit. Secretly, and against Department rules, they are deep into sex.

Another detective unit is Dick Cheevers and Ed Chase. Cheevers is black, smart and scary. Backing him up is Chase, white as ice cream, not that either one cares. Irv Miller and partner Kaz Kazurian are opposites in temperament. Miller is contemplative. Kazurian is hot-tempered, a give-no-quarter cop in accordance with his European blood lines.

Luttwak and his troops are frustrated by clever, corrupt and merciless killer Victor Krait, straight out of a dime stretch at Terminal Island and looking for revenge. And so it goes in Hollywood, city of the night.