Pressure Point - Tapa dura

Mike Faraday, the laconic LA. private investigator goes into the grocery trade in a big way in his 38th adventure and finds it the most dangerous business in the world.
Aided by his blonde secretary Stella, Mike is at first inclined to be sceptical when Isaac Fennell, a wealthy grocer, brings some samples of his wares to Mike's office.
But he soon changes tack when he discovers tins of cheap fish contain the choicest Russian caviar and Scotch salmon while another miracle has converted vinegar into the finest burgundy.
Involved in a multi-million dollar racket, in which Mike is almost beaten to death; shot at twice by a professional hit-man ; and finds an intending informant strangled with a pair of wire cheese-cutters; are as diverse a cast as even Mike has ever come across.
They include Moss, the manager of Holliman's warehouse; Big Leo and his three hit-men; Brophy, the dumbest house-dick this side of a Marx Brothers film; Fennell himself; Alex Rivera, who wants out of a dangerous game; Krauss, the accountant; and a Famous Face. In a blazing finale Mike enters the world of high politics. Another for Mike's ever-growing band of admirers.