Be Cool - Elmore Leonard

After a smash hit in Get Leo and a flop in Get Lost, B-movie-producer Chili Palmer is looking for another score. Lunching with a record company executive, Chili's exploring a hot new idea--until the exec, a former "associate" from Chili's Brooklyn days, gets whacked while eating his grilled pesto chicken. Lucky Chili wasn't around for dessert.

Chili's found his plot. It's a slam-bang the rubout of a record company mogul. Cut to an ambitious wannabe singer named Linda Moon. She has attitude and a band. She's perfect. Zoom into reality. Linda's manager thinks Chili's poaching and he's out to get even, with the help of his switch-hitting Samoan bodyguard. But somebody else beat them to the punch, as Chili discovers when he gets home and finds a corpse at his desk. Somebody made a mistake. . . .