Zelazny, Roger - The Dead Man’s Brother
Wiley finds a dead man in his gallery. A bygone partner from his questionable youth. Police summoned, they do what most might do: assume Wiley did the deed and put him on ice. That is, until the CIA decide to spring him.
From this point on, this nutty yarn scampers from Langley to Rome to Brazil, as our man Wiley is coerced to find a missing Vatican moneyman.
The first half has a dynamic momentum and jumps around more than a grasshopper convention.
The second half bogs down in overly talkative passages, and lengthy exposition attempting to explain whatever the current mystery perplexes.
Despite Zelazny’s attempts to enliven proceedings with beatings, jungle escapes and bedspring romps, the tale grows ever stagnant until it reaches Dullsville.