THE GAME OF THIRTY by William Kotzwinkle, Houghton Mifflin, 262 pages, $21.95.

It’s all too rare to find the elements of a tightly plotted murder mystery and outstanding literary style between the same covers, but that’s exactly what William Kotzwinkle delivers in his latest novel, “The Game of Thirty”.

In this book, his twentieth to date, Kotzwinkle smoothly updates time-honored icons of the 1930’s thriller genre to tell a contemporary story: a tough, savvy private eye with a weakness for the ladies; an insightful sidekick; a beautiful client in distress; a cast of colorful “connections”; and a victim who had something to hide. The formula still works, even down to the tough guy similes. The look she gave me was the sort you give to an umbrella stand on a sunny day: I was there, I was of no use to her, and I reminded her of bad weather.

Manhattan p.i. Jimmy McShane is hired by Temple Rennseler to track down her father’s killer. Tommy Rennseler, a wealthy Madison Avenue antiquities dealer, specialized in things Egyptian and so did his killer, who administered a deadly dose of cobra venom before cutting out several vital organs.

The police are baffled and McShane takes on the case with more hope of getting cozy with his lovely client than of finding answers. Moments after Temple leaves his office, however, he receives a fax–no words, just a tiny drawing of a cobra. Beginning with the family business (which Temple has inherited) and her less-than-loving family, McShane soon uncovers enough dirt to put both her life and his own at risk. As the story progresses, an ancient Egyptian board game played by Temple and her father, the Game of Thirty, seems to hold the key to the mystery.

McShane is aided by Dr. Ann Henderson, a New Age psychic chiropractor with a photographic memory and an eye for detail. Intent on helping McShane in his investigation and getting his unruly chakras under control, she adds spice, humor, and insight to the story. By allowing narrator McShane to repeatedly declare himself more interested in Henderson’s corporeal form than her etheric one, the author establishes a sexy “mismatched buddies” camaraderie between these two that really works.

As always, Kotzwinkle is a master of atmosphere–small wonder for a writer who numbers Ray Bradbury and William Burroughs among his literary influences. Blending `90s high tech with `20s and Egyptian motifs, he keeps the reader constantly off balance. The result is a rich, seductively sinister ambiance reminiscent of “Angel Heart” or “Blade Runner”. Best of all, the story is suffused with clues cloaked as names, gestures, objects. To go into detail would be to give the plot away, and that I will not do.

This is what they call an honest mystery, Kotzwinkle explained during our recent interview. I was astounded by certain reviewers who said, `Well, I guessed it halfway through!’ and then made less of the book because of it. The only reason they could possibly have guessed it is because I gave them the clues!”

Well, I guessed it, too, but finished up awed rather than annoyed. “The Game of Thirty” offers far more than a few good plot twists. Kotzwinkles style and characterizations create a world youre not quite ready to emerge from on page 262. Having figured out the mystery, it was an equal pleasure turning back to page one to re-experience the characters and see how he’d engineered it all. I haven’t done that with a mystery novel since”The Name of the Rose”.