Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
The Left Hand of God
Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Hugh Holton
Class/Genre: Mystery Police Procedural Government Agency Legal Setting
Series: Larry Cole # 6
Forge, Feb 1999, $24.95, 384 pp.
In 2004, Chicago police Commander Larry Cole thought being the Second City's top cop is a tough job. However, he knows spending the summer with his visiting teenager, Butch, will prove even more taxing on his mind.
Jack "the Fixer" Carlisle has earned his reputation from both the law and the mob for his ability to "pick" longshots. Neither side has caught Jack doing anything illicit even though they wonder how come he is such a successful gambler. Instead, Jack works on the human element in a sports event even if it means destroying the personal lives of players and coaches in the process. His latest venture is to rig the Olympics basketball games so that the overwhelmingly favorite Americans lose. Larry becomes involved when his son overhears the plan while visiting a night club. That case is enough to keep Larry and his able assistants extremely busy trying to obtain evidence. However, Larry soon learns that someone hired a priest to take out a news reporter, Orga Syriac, who is going to expose the diabolical dealings of the Human Development Institute.
Chicago has never been as alive as it is in a Hugh Holton novel. His latest Cole entry, THE LEFT HAND OF GOD is a taut police procedural that opens up both the elite and the underbelly of the city. The crisp story line gracefully moves forward as rarely seen in a police procedural. Butch's visit adds a human touch to the beleaguered Larry. Readers will want more Cole novels because they read as if they are a touch of heavenly delight.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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