His Hollywood-type characters ring true, and he manages to make the spoiled young movie star, Darren Anderson, sympathetic and appealing all the while he is being a louse. And hulking, tattooed muscle-for-hire Albert Wysocki is one of those indelible bad guys you love to hate - - quirky and funny while being chillingly sinister.
It is Cleveland private op Milan Jacovich, in his ninth and best-yet outing, whose presence is the glue that holds it all together. His wry wit is in full throttle, and his often rigid principles cost him dearly here, as they usually do, and we find ourselves rooting for his budding relationship with a bright, funny woman who matches his strength and determination.
A fast-action and highly entertaining entry in a superior series.
This book, in particular, also abounds with terrific philosophical sayings such as: "Michael Jordan says that you always miss the shot you don't take." Yup. You do. Which ought to convince folks to make more attempts at the things that mean the most to them. Six pages earlier was my favorite: "A very wise Clevelander once told me that gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all the others."
As a devoted reader of this series, I was very upset when, in the previous book, Milan's boyhood pal, Lt. Marko Meglich took a bullet intended for Milan. (Not that I wanted to lose Milan, because I certainly didn't. I just didn't want to lose Marko, either.) It was somewhat appeasing that six months later, Milan is also still suffering the loss. It is in order to shake him up some that another old friend, the newspaperman Ed Stahl, recommends Milan for a job with a Hollywood film company that's shooting in Cleveland. The job is as a glorified baby-sitter for the young male star of the film - the 24 year-old Darren Anderson.
Darren, however, resents the 'tending' and point blank tells Milan to leave him alone for one particular Sunday, the end of which sees Darren in a new role--that of corpse. Milan takes it personally, and sets out to find the killer, even if he no longer has a real client. Along the way, we meet some familiar folk from previous books, as well as a new love for Milan. This is good, as he definitely needed one.
If you've ever wondered about Cleveland, the Milan Jacovich books will show you the real thing, warts and all, but subtly mixed in with the rest of the cityscape that those of us who live here, love as much as Milan does. His descriptions of the places he visits should endear him to the Chamber of Commerce, while the taut story lines, unique characterizations and marvelous writing should endear him to readers of all kinds of books.
