Max Holman reaches the end of his ten-year jail sentence for bank robbery, determined to turn over a new leaf and build bridges with his son and partner. But on the eve of his release he finds that his son, who's become a policeman, has been murdered. He's determined to find out what happened, but his attempts to get information seem to be thwarted at every turn. And he seems to have no-one he can turn to for help...

After Free Fall, I decided I'd give the Elvis Cole series a miss, but the non-Elvis books Hostage and Demolition Angel were pretty good so I was optimistic about this one.

And it was a good one. There were quite a few similarities in the plot to that of Free Fall: it looks like there might be some kind of cover-up going on in the police force, and seemingly the son is a part of that, although Max doesn't want to believe it. But it was a lot better than that book, partly because you didn't have to put up with Elvis Cole, and partly the story telling was a lot more focused: with both Free Fall and Hostage, there was a bit too much going on. In this book, which is a fairly recent one (2006), he seems to have got a much better style.

To start with, Max reminded me a bit of Parker in Point Blank, but he's not nearly so ruthless or invulnerable as that. Not so memorable a character, but a suitable one for this story.

So I really enjoyed this book, which I got through in a weekend.

Completed : 22-Feb-2009