Trigger City
Sean Chercover
Morrow, Nov 2008, $23.95
ISBN: 9780061128691
In Chicago unable to let go the unsolved murder of his daughter Joan, Colonel (R) Isaac Richmond hires injured (see BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD) private investigator Ray Dudgeon to investigate in what appears to be a solved case. Dudgeon knows he still should refuse as he is still healing, but accepts the $50,000.
To everyone including the sleuth with the lone exception of her father believe Joan’s insane co-worker Steven Zhang killed her and then himself in a murder-suicide. However, being a professional Dudgeon looks beyond the obvious to see if any other potential suspect exists. He learns Joan worked for the Hawk River Company that thrives on Defense Department and Homeland Security contracts and Zhang’s widow admits her late spouse had contacts in China. As the case spins even crazier, Dudgeon begins to believe there were two homicides committed instead of a murder-suicide.
TRIGGER CITY is an excellent Chicago Noir as Dudgeon keeps digging in spite of threats to his still bruised and battered well being. The story line is fast-paced from the onset and never looks back once the sleuth accepts the case. Readers will enjoy Drudgeon’s tour of Chicago as he turns from skeptic to believer while the inquiry turns strange and potentially deadly.
Harriet Klausner
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