Book Review: The Price of Blood

Reviewed By: Carl Brookins - RAM

The Price of Blood     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Chuck Logan
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller
Series: Phil Broker # 1
Harper; Jan. 1998; $6.99; 481 pp

This author, Chuck Logan is a talented writer. He has a good grip on the requirements for successful commercial fiction. “The Price Of Blood” is a suspense thriller with so many twists and surprises one almost need to keep a list. To say that the reader is kept off balance a good deal of the time is to understate the case.

Phil Broker is an undercover cop, with almost twenty years in service to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal apprehension. He served some time in harness, but his inability to deal with tight structure and a rigid chain of command sent him into the murky, swirling waters of undercover law enforcement. Broker has become a master of the sleight-of-hand maneuver. He’s a veteran of Viet Nam, but he’s not by any measure a superhero, which makes him an intriguing protagonist.

Comes suddenly to his home, interrupting a sting, the grown-up daughter of his commanding officer in the last action Broker saw in Viet Nam. Nina Pryce, who’s father was posthumously cashiered amid charges of lethal incompetence and stealing treasure, has dumped her own army career while trying to clear her father’s name. Now she wants Broker’s help to rehabilitate her father, and not incidentally, her own career. Reluctantly, he decides to help, pushed into the effort by some very weird and dangerous characters.

Like Logan’s other books, “The Price of Blood,” brims with verisimilitude, action, a pell-mell pace and a pretty high body count. It’s fast, clean, and makes an exciting entertainment.

Carl Brookins - RAM

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