Lew Archer is hired to investigate the suspicious French "aristocrat" who's run off with his client's girlfriend--only to uncover a mountain of gambling debts and a seven-year-old suicide with lethal repercussions in the present. Black Money is Ross Macdonald at his best, baring the skull beneath the suntanned skin of Southern California's high society. Simultaneous trade paperback release with Vintage Crime/Black Lizard. 2 cassettes.