The Born Loser by Carter Brown (Al Wheeler #42)

Detective Al Wheeler knows trouble—and this time, it walks in looking like a sure thing.
When a routine case unravels into a mess of lies, bodies, and beautiful suspects, Wheeler must navigate the sharp corners of a city where nobody tells the truth. Fast-paced, clever, and dripping with vintage pulp attitude, The Born Loser is classic Carter Brown crime fiction at its most entertaining.

Paperback, 1973

Goodreads: 2.80