The genre term pulp comes from the cheap paper that these books were printed during their original heyday. Another way to define pulp is as just plain fun. The authors were clearly having fun as they teamed up on this and two more books in the series and the reader is not left behind. Lots of sex, double dealing and violence splash from every page. After a bit of a rough start, the plot settles into a nice pass the ball rhythm--each character taking turns being on top of things before falling under the thumb of someone else. While fun, it doesn't rise much above that. Each character seems to be given a James Cagney "Top o' the world Ma!" White Heat moment whether it makes sense or not and the little characterization that exists is betrayed in the last third of the book when characters do things inconsistent with who they are. So many balls are thrown in the air to keep you entertained but eventually you realize they are there to distract you from there being no one to catch them when they fall. Fun but not satisfying.