Dooley's Back Book

Dooley is not back even a day, and already he’s helped a gangland punk with a switchblade in his hand and rape on his mind to a deadly fall. And throughout this gritty, hard-boiled crime novel by a master of the new noir, fists work fast, the talk comes tough, and pages turn as swiftly as the rip of a hitman’s bullet. Frank Dooley used to be a Chicago cop, but eight years ago a case of homicide prompted him to take the law into his own hands—the victim was his wife—and then head south, to Mexico. Dooley’s return is met by everyone with surprise, and by a few with pleasure. Like his old partner Roy Ferguson. Roy has had some weighty problems of his own. His seven-year-old son has drowned, he’s gone through a nasty divorce, and a serious gambling habit has buried him deep in debt. Dangerously deep; for an over-ambitious loan shark with the mob, John Spanos, is taking the juice on Roy’s $15,000 score in favors. Dooley convinces Roy he should own up to what he’s done, set up a sting on Spanos, and maybe get back his integrity as a cop. It’s a good plan, but it goes very bad, and Dooley soon finds himself caught perilously between the police force he deserted on one side and the Outfit Roy betrayed on the other. This is a tough-edged urban novel of crime and suspense. “The hard-boiled fraternity has a new member, and he’s a good one.”—Booklist “Gritty, fast-paced, satisfying.”—Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly

The author of the Cooper MacLeish mystery series (Fear Will Do It, etc.) introduces a new hard-boiled hero to the gritty streets of Chicago, but neither alienated ex-copper Frank Dooley nor his adventures matches Reaves's previous efforts. Dooley was still on the force when his wife was murdered; when the law failed him he took his vengeance and fled to Mexico. Eight years later, he returns home to find the case against him stale and his brother, Kevin, a lieutenant. But life for his former partner, Roy Ferguson, has gotten thorny: his seven-year-old son drowned, his marriage fell apart and now he's deep in debt to Johnny Spanos, a hungry loan shark who's pressuring him to steal evidence. Dooley convinces Roy to pull a sting on Spanos, but it goes terribly wrong, and Roy gets killed. Tough-guy Dooley decides to pull a sting of his own to get Spanos to confess on pain of death to Roy's murder. Not only does this strain credibility, it's a bit corny. Like the hero of a spaghetti western, gunslinger Dooley rides back into town to square off against its toughest outlaw. And readers will wonder why the bad guy doesn't simply blow Dooley away: if Spanos defeated his previous foes with ease, why does he have such trouble with Dooley? Reaves has his moments with classic noir fights, both verbal and physical, and even a bit of a romance, but his tale takes too long to get started, and wanders off track too often to be suspenseful. (Oct. 14) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.