Max Holman is a reformed bank robber, fresh out of jail and intending to live a normal, rehabilitated life. He’s had no contact with his estranged girlfriend and son in the 10 years he’s been in jail, but he’s proud knowing that his son is a police offer (“not bad like me”) and hoping to mend fences when he’s released.
Unfortunately for Holman, the day he’s released from prison, his son and three other cops are gunned down, all four killed instantly. The cops quickly nab the shooter and close the case. Holman, grieving and in shock, can’t let the case go so easily, and starts digging into the details. It soon becomes apparent that all is not what it seems, and suddenly Holman is getting threatened by crooked cops in the ultimate game of “who are they gonna believe – you or me?”
Holman reaches out to the FBI agent who arrested him, Liz Pollard. He knows her history and honesty, and needs her connections and an ally. Pollard agrees to look into it, and is soon up to her eyeballs in intrigue.
Crais is usually very serviceable (I like his Elvis Cole series), and this one’s not too far off his usual track. It doesn’t seem quite as strong as some of his other books – the ending is a bit rushed, and some of the character motivations feel like “because I said so,” but he does a good job making Holman seem real. He’s not a hero, and he’s not 100% sure how to act in the real world, after a youth of crime and a decade behind bars. He’s nicely flawed but mostly believable. Pollard is a bit thinner, character-wise, but they make an okay team.
“Perfectly serviceable” doesn’t sound like high praise, but after my last couple books, I’ll take it.
