Book Review: The Big Law

Reviewed By: Carl Brookins - RAM

The Big Law     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Chuck Logan
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Series: Phil Broker # 2
Harper Collins; 1998; $24.00; 362 pp

Phil Broker is an ex-cop, hero of a terrific story about Viet Nam gold (The Price of Blood), who has settled into a new role on the north shore of Lake Superior. He’s now got a resort, an ex-wife, an infant daughter and a nice dog. Trouble is, the world won’t leave him alone.

Trouble arises in the person of a former partner, Keith Angland, a St. Paul cop who makes money on the side by tipping off Chicago mobsters about certain activities of the local gendarmes. When Angland’s wife, formerly married to Broker, decides to blow the whistle on her husband, she runs in the wrong direction. Soon Broker is in the sights of not only some mobsters, but the St. Paul cops, and the FBI.

Logan, has a strong narrative sense and the story moves at a relentless, swift pace. If the story is complicated and gritty, it is very believable. Logan’s characters always seem to behave as they would be expected to, given the surprising circumstances that arise in every chapter. Although the action takes place in some widely separated locales, the scenes in Minnesota, particularly along the North Shore, are highly evocative. We call this a thriller and the label is apt. Suspense and thrills of many kinds abound. A very satisfying entertainment.

Carl Brookins - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carl Brookins - RAM

Please visit Carl's website at http://www.carlbrookins.com/