Recently returned from Iraq, Jason Palmer is disillusioned
and at loose ends with his life. He can't seem to come to
terms with the life his brother Michael has chosen, running
a local bar in their old neighborhood and working to make
that area a better place to live for him and his young son,
Billy. Michael is serious about putting an end to the gang
wars raging in this area of Chicago.
Now, Michael has been murdered and his bar torched with him
in it, and Billy is being hunted down as a potential
witness to the crime. Jason has a purpose in life -- find
his brother's killers and bring them to justice while
keeping his nephew safe. But even his experiences in Iraq
cannot prepare him for what he's about to face in his quest
for justice -- and revenge.
Following on the heals of his excellent debut novel of
2007, THE BLADE ITSELF, Marcus Sakey proves once
again his skill at writing a riveting thriller that's fast-
paced and gripping from the first sentence to the last.
Even though some of the gang-slang terminology was foreign
to me, I was so caught up in the sharply drawn plot, it
made no difference. Sakey has become one of my favorite
authors, and I can't wait for his next thriller novel.
Jason Palmer loved being a soldier. But returned from Iraq
with an "other than honorable" discharge, he's finding
rebuilding his life the toughest battle yet.
Elena Cruz is a talented cop, the first woman to make
Chicago's prestigious Gang Intelligence Unit. She's ready
for anything the job can throw at her.
Until Jason's brother, a prominent community activist, is
murdered in front of his own son.
Now, stalked by brutal men with a shadowy agenda, Jason and
Elena must unravel a conspiracy stretching from the darkest
alleys of the ghetto to the manicured lawns of the city's
powerbrokers. In a world where corruption and violence are
simply the cost of doing business, two damaged people are
all that stand between an innocent child—and the killers
who will stop at nothing to find him.