This book misses the mark

New York private eye, Payton Sherwood sees three men begin roughing up a young girl in his New York neighborhood. He steps in to help the girl but they turn their anger on him and beat him severely  He's barely conscious when the girl comes out of hiding and steals his rolex watch.

Thereafter, this noir novel leads the reader through Payton's search for the girl, Gloria, and his desire to learn why the men were after her. He also wants his watch back.

I found little original in the book and wondered why Payton continued to spend his time and money trying to find Gloria, even after he had recovered his stolen item.

Payton becomes involved in one bad thing after another which made me wonder how much would it take him to stop working on this case and go on to a case where he could get paid for his efforts.

The author's descriptions of New York and the homeless and the neighborhood parks was rock solid.