The latest crime is the murder of geologist Chris Andrews in Toronto's Beaches area. It's just the sort of tricky problem Stark likes. Andrews has been found dead in his study, head resting on the keys of his computer, skull fractured by a heavy, blunt weapon. His wife, Dianne Johnson, had been locked in the pantry. She claims the intruder attacked her from behind and all she glimpsed was the black balaclava he was wearing.

Andrews and his partner, Shane Bishop, have discovered a hot geological property in New Guinea, or at least Andrews has found it. That's what makes him the brilliant half of the partnership. Bishop does the promoting to push the price of mining shares on the stock market. His contribution borders on the shady, more so after links to the mob are uncovered.

Chilly, aka Horace MacIvor, one of Toronto's homeless, lives in a jumble of blankets and newspapers and cardboard in an alleyway behind a club called the Purple. Chilly has found a wallet, and instead of doing his usual, keep the cash and toss the wallet and cards, he decides to sell the cards to a druggie, a poor move. The wallet belonged to Chris Andrews and Chilly is now a suspect.

There is the question of Andrew's wife, Dianne. Had she really been in Ottawa staying with a friend as she said? And whose is the hiking boot that made the footprint on the stairs to the flat?

When he's not seeking out answers, Stark likes to relax at Carbo's, drinking scotch and listening to Morty Greenwood's piano arrangements of 40s standards. Stark drinks too much but he has good reason for anaesthetising himself each night. Even great sex with Carol Weems from 55 Division doesn't give him the peace of mind for dreamless sleep.

Undercut is John Worsley Simpson's first crime novel, but should he choose to make it a series, Stark is a strong enough character to sustain a following. The plot suits Toronto well. The city has had its share of stock market scams around mining ventures. Geological exploration is familiar Canadians and Simpson's experience as a writer for Report on Business and the Financial Post gives him an inside edge.

All in the line of duty, Stark enjoys a bibulous lunch at Charlie Hayden's club and pays a call on a University of Toronto geology professor. He visits a seedy strip mall in Woodbridge and drives to a Collingwood ski resort. A midget call girl, a mobster and a squabbling pair of constables are among the characters he deals with.

The plot twists and turns while more people get killed before the surprise solution. There are a few too many complications and one or two loose ends have been left unresolved, but perhaps Simpson is saving them for the next time out. This is a nice take on the Toronto crime scene and the Beaches makes a great setting. I shall keep a watch for more of Harry Stark.