Robert S. Levinson, Ask a Dead Man

Ask a Dead Man

Robert S. Levinson

Five Star, Dec 2004,

ISBN: 1594142556

In a Belfast bar, a Plowman sent by the notorious Thirty-Two kills their former leader Frankie McCrory in front of his wife Katie McCrory because they obtained evidence that he turned traitor and worked for an American espionage agency TRIAD. While Kate mourns her loss, Frankie's odious brother Liam blackmails his sister-in-law into doing a job for the Thirty-Two. She is to deliver money and equipment to a Plowman who will assassinate African leader Mustamba. If she fails to deliver, her beloved "adopted" family, the Osbornes, in Pasadena, California, will die.

On the train heading to Pasadena, Katie kills the same Plowman who murdered Frankie before he could assassinate her. In Pasadena she checks in with her TRIAD boss, devious Walter Burkes, who wonders who his agent works for since her beloved died. As she seeks vengeance, but not sure against whom, Katie risks her life to keep the Osbornes safe and to obtain the truth. Only her former lover, Los Angeles Police Detective Peter Osborne, tries to keep her safe, though he is not sure what is going on.

Though it is difficult to keep track of the players, their agencies, and the twists (Katie feels the same way), fans will enjoy this solid espionage, police-procedural thriller. The storyline is action-packed from the moment the Plowman kills Frankie until the final twist of a confrontation between Katie and her identified antagonist. Katie is a heroic protagonist wanting revenge yet needing to keep the Osbornes safe, while readers will feel for Peter who made one mistake that cost him his beloved. The action and Katie make it worth gyrating through the tangled plot.

Harriet Klausner