Don't Raise the Bridge (Lower the River) by Max Wilk

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. 1961. Pocket. 1st Paperback Printing.

Meet George Lester. Genial grifter, sympathetic chiseler, operator of an exurban wayside inn. The specialty of the house is French cookery - George's specialty is love-starved matrons. Then into his happy paradise comes ex-wife Leora - and threatens to blackmail him for $50,000. Can he raise the fifty grand? Well, anyone who can remove a lady's riding boots without destroying her romantic mood can do anything.