From Publishers Weekly
"We did it for the money" is retired lawman Bomber Lawrence's explanation for any piece of bad behavior, and Higgins's latest feast of dialogue (after Defending Billy Ryan ) often illustrates Bomber's Law. Recalled to Boston after a 12-month exile in the Massachusetts sticks, sergeant Harry Dell'Appa replaces Bob Brennan on a stakeout of Short Joey Mossi, a reputed mob hit man on whom the police have as yet been unable to pin anything. Going through Brennan's file on Mossi, Dell'Appa finds it suspiciously light; longstanding mutual dislike between the two cops makes it easy for Harry to believe there's something fishy going on. The reason for their antagonism and the results of Dell'Appa's suspicions are revealed in Higgins's preferred style, which favors dialogue--or rather, monologues--over narrative descriptions. The simple, precise plot constantly gets lost in the author's urge to reproduce the exact cadences of his characters' speech; individual sentences are accurate, realistic and very well written, but the endless digressions and stories within the story are rambling and undramatic, especially when compared to the dialogue that is directly plot-motivated. Still, with an author who uses monologues like arias to create atmosphere and character, plot naturally takes second place. Perhaps that's Higgins's Law: He did it for the dialogue. BOMC selection.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The hero of Higgins's 23rd mystery novel is Detective Sgt. Harry Dell'Appa, a sensitive investigator in his thirties who has returned to his Boston headquarters on special assignment after an enforced exile in the Berkshires designed to call a halt to his ill-fated office romance. Almost entirely through dialog, the reader comes to loathe Harry's partner, who's been tailing a hired mob killer for years with no apparent results. In a dramatic finale, we learn the reasons for Harry's puzzling inertia. Higgins comes through again with the subtle characterization and humor we expect; one wants to reread the book to savor the clues scattered here and there. Sure to satisfy the legions of Higgins fans and win new converts. BOMC main selection.
- Joyce Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib. , Manalapan, N.J.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
