I am looking for the title and author of a book published in the early
1990s. It's a crime novel a la Elmore Leonard. The hero is a Gulf War
Vet wounded in the knee. Returning home he falls in with a rich
husband and wife who are pulling off crimes mainly for the thrills.
Also involved is the husband's mistress and a half Korean, half Samoan
gunman.

Hello.

I'm pretty sure that your book must be "The Money Lovers" (1994) by Timothy Watts.

Here's the entry from the Library of Congress catalog:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+93041171&CNT=10+records+per+page

As far as I can tell, "The Money Lovers" is the only Elmore
Leonard-style crime novel involving a Gulf War veteran, a rich crook,
a rich crook's wife, and a mistress.

See this review hosted by Amazon.com:

"Katherine, a former model, is married to Nicky, a onetime Wall Street
whiz kid now trying to organize a real-estate scam. Then there's
Wesley, an investor with dirty cash from a murder-kidnapping. And
don't forget Suzy, Katherine's best friend, who is Nicky's lover...
...Into this mess steps Jimmy Decker, Katherine's high-school lover.
He's fresh from a 10-year hitch in the Marines and the Persian Gulf
War...
...Favorable comparisons to Elmore Leonard are unavoidable."
source: Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1569470081/?v=glance&s=books&vi=reviews

Also available from half.com:
http://half.ebay.com/cat/buy/prod.cgi?cpid=1463035

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search strategy:
Library of Congress catalog terms: persian gulf war fiction

I hope this is the book that you had in mind. If not, please let me
know via the "request clarification" feature. Thanks.

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Request for Answer Clarification by macngail-ga on 28 Jan 2004 11:58 PST

It turns out that this wqasn't hte book I was looking for (though I
enjoyed reading it). The book has the same criteria as The Money
Lovers, Gulf War Vet, husband and wife crime team, the husband's
mistress, but also I distinctly remember the husband's half Samoan,
half Korean henchman. Also, I believe the story took place in the San
Francisco - Bay Area. Want to try again for another ten dollars?

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jan 2004 12:25 PST

Wow.  It's strange that there would be two books that were so
incredibly similar.  I'll see if I can find anything else.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jan 2004 19:08 PST

Hi.

Okay, it must be "Paradise Junction" (1993) by Philip Finch.

This one has all the elements of the other one (rich crooks, etc.)
PLUS it takes place in the Bay Area AND features a "Samoan muscleman."

From the reviews on Amazon.com:

'Finch's compact, forward-leaning prose packs a powerful punch in this
crime thriller connecting some society misfits in California with a
few privileged Marin County residents who are driven by such common
motives as greed, jealousy and boredom.'

'Gorgeous "heroine" Caitlin is totally bored with life and her wealthy
husband, Hays, who suddenly finds that his direct-sales business is
falling. At Caitlin's instigation, they team up with ex-con Sonny
Naull in a series of successful burglaries undertaken more for kicks
than for money. Into this mix comes Hays's reprehensible business
partner, a Samoan muscleman, a troupe of nasty bikers, and a Marine
named Welcome.'
source: Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0312953046/reviews/

This has got to be it. :-)

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Jan 2004 19:39 PST

The author's first name is "Phillip" (rather than "Philip"). Sorry about that.

Available used via Amazon beginning at $.01:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/0312088698/all/

Yes! That's the one. Thank you, now I can sleep at night.

Thank you for the tip.
-juggler

Okay. This is definitely the one I was looking. Excellent job! Now,
how do I go about paying you?

If you wish, you could post a new question directed to juggler-ga.
However, payment is really not necessary since the first book wasn't
the one that you wanted.  Anyway, thank you for the challenging
question!

I appreciate your work and skill, let's post it again.