Raise the Devil - Terence Faherty

A starlet is dead, and it falls to Scott Elliott to avenge her

In the penthouse of a Las Vegas casino, a gang of mobsters play poker, betting sums that would make even the most seasoned gamblers blush. In the bedroom lies Beverly Brooks, one of Tinseltown's most beautiful leading ladies. She has been kidnapped for the amusement of the don. Scott Elliott, Hollywood sleuth, has come to save her. Dressed as a bellhop, he slips her out through the service elevator and they make their getaway down the Vegas strip. He has saved her life—for now.

While shooting a cut-rate rip-off of Cleopatra, Brooks and her producer are killed in a plane crash that may lead back to the Mob. Elliott was supposed to be protecting her, and he let her down. To ease his conscience, Los Angeles' toughest private detective will have to give in to his hunger for revenge.