Self-appointed private eye Sam Chauvel, fresh from unearthing Wil Dreamsworth, takes on the corporate world.
He goes undercover at consulting powerhouse HemmingsLloyd, a small firm that thinks big, rubbing shoulders with the wheelers and dealers, movers and shakers, legends and masters of methodology. Who will help him, who will lead him astray? Who is this Britney Spitz, the temp receptionist - could she be the answer to his sensuo-spiritual and other needs?
The answer is blowing in the wind ... or is there love in the air-conditioning?
Love is in the Air-Conditioning, Scott Bywater
This is one of those little books that I've been keeping an eye out for over the last few years, finally tracking down a copy recently. At 141 pages it was just the right size for dropping into the suitcase that we're dragging backwards and forwards between houses at the moment.
Mind you, I didn't really know what to expect with the book, the blurb mentions private investigation and consulting firms, but it doesn't really give much else away. It turns out that Sam has been called in to investigage possible financial irregularities. One of the partners thinks that somebody is ripping off his earnings. Mind you, none of the partners seem to get on all that well, but having said that, they are sort of bit players anyway. Mostly the book is about Sam - Sam's life, the way he thinks, the way he sort of wanders around the investigation and his sexual and romantic conquests.
In novella form, the book is really all about Sam - Sam is a bit of a devil may care, lone wolf, with a heart of gold and a complicated personal life (so no real surprises there!). It was quite an amusing little book though, although I will confess I spent most of it a bit confused about what the supposed crime was supposed to be and whether Sam would ever stop drinking coffee and chasing the receptionist for long enough to concentrate.
Okay, so the twist is very obvious and the investigation prefunctory to say the least, LOVE IS IN THE AIR-CONDITIONING is more of an amusement than an enlightenment (if you know what I mean). But it did work as a diversion for a little while.