Victor's father is not usually in communication with Victor, but now he needs a favor that includes helping an elderly woman get her son home for one last time.  The son has problems with a current warrant for his arrest and some mobsters looking for him with murder in their hearts. The elderly son has a painting that was stolen 20 years ago during a museum heist...a perfect crime that was never solved.  He thinks it is his ticket out of trouble, and that Victor can use the stolen Rembrandt as a bargaining chip, but that just adds to Victor's problems, and now they are both in mortal danger.

Victor Carl is a very complicated character, an attorney who is not quite financially stable, and whose moral ethics leave us wondering, but his instinct for solving problems is right on. The story is ostensibly about crime and hoodlums, but the compelling plot line is about Victor's soul-searching and deep personal involvement in the cases he takes. Lashner is a master at characterization and you can count on a few oddballs in every story. In Marked Man there are weird characters you won't soon forget. There is a guy named Lavender Hill (is he a bad guy or a good guy?), the stripper, Monica Adair and her elusive sister, Chantal Adair, and then just for kicks,  there is elderly Agnes LeComte from the Randolph Museum who "could do so much" for Victor.  Nobody is quite what they seem, and they all impact Victor's life and serve to confuse the plot and keep you guessing until the very end. Lashner's extraordinary thrillers are gripping, entertaining, and great fun to read.