Norman Green, Way Past Legal

Way Past Legal

Norman Green

HarperCollins, Jun 2004, $24.95, 272 pp.

ISBN: 0060564547

Manny Williams enjoyed his vocation of master thief, but his last job left him wealthy though concerned. He and Rosario hit a small Brooklyn brokerage house expecting a small "fee", which is better than too much, but got the mother lode instead. Though they escape to Coney Island, he knows the Russian mob will be looking for him. In retirement, Manny thinks the time is right to snatch his five-year-old son Nicky out of a lousy foster care family and start over just the two of them.

The abduction goes smooth until Manny and Nicky reach Eastport, Maine, where he has car trouble. The townsfolk treat the two Williams males as if they have been long time residents as he waits for his vehicle to be repaired. However, his previous life comes to New England as his Brooklyn based enemies have a score to settle and arrive with guns firing at anyone who stand between them and Manny. Surprising even himself Manny refuses to let those angels who have come to the aid of he and Nicky get hurt even if it means his life for this small town as taught the cynic the meaning of life.

This is a refreshing character study wrapped inside a delightful thriller. The story line is a bright look at the trials and tribulations of a single father, raising (and running) with a kindergarten age child. The cast is top rate, but Manny is the focus as he learns the importance of caring for others in this small out of the way Maine town though the lesson may cost him his life.

Harriet Klausner