Ross Thomas

Abner Procane, top L.A. burglar, finds that somebody stole his plans for next ambitious heist. He hires Raymond St. Ives, crime books writer, to negotiate the return of those documents. (imdb)

Nelson Crowe is a CIA operative under the thumb of the Company for a disputed delivery of $50,000 in gold. They blackmail him into working for the Grimes Organization, which is set up as a private company for hire, to blackmail prominent individuals. Crowe, working with Margaret Wells (another former Covert Operations operative), blackmails and bribes a State Supreme Court judge, but the deal sours... (imdb)