Reviewed by: Dennis Collins, MyShelf.com
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Lou Mason is a trial attorney. A major client of the law firm that he works for is under the scrutiny of the FBI for possible involvement in illegal activities. When the senior partner in that law firm turns up murdered, the rest of the organization has to scramble to see just how deep their corporate entanglement goes. Lou Mason is assigned to gathering the details.

The situation is further complicated when another prominent partner is murdered and all signs point to Lou Mason's name being the next on the list. Kelly Holt, the local Sheriff, is conducting the murder investigation but most of her efforts are spent trying to keep Lou from being killed.

It seems that Lou is in possession of some highly volatile evidence implicating some major mobsters. He picks up his old ex-cop buddy, "Blues" along the way to help guide him through the homicidal maze. The situation is complicated and almost all of Lou's associates appear to have enough motives to be suspects. The danger seems to come from all directions.

I won't reveal too much of the story here, except to say that Joel Goldman, with his great command of the art of storytelling, does an outstanding job of guiding the reader through a complex plot that embraces a large cast of characters. The story flows along smoothly with goosebump-producing situations occurring at just the right intervals. The pace is fast and the dialog both clever and gritty. Although this story has been pigeon-holed as a legal thriller, it has the fiber to hold its own along with the best of the hard boiled.

With any luck, we'll be hearing more from Lou Mason.