Ron Goodreau, The Khan Dilemma

The Khan Dilemma

Ron Goodreau

iUniverse, 2009, $18.95

ISBN: 9781440151231

At night in Las Cruces, California, Bernard Harris is out walking his dog near a house when a body flies through a window onto the street. A man rushes out the door waving a gun as he charges towards Bernard. Stunned but calm, Bernard takes out a sap from his pocket and conks the attacker on the head; knocking him out.

Police Detective Dale Cox arrives at the crime scene in twenty minutes, but to his amazement two FBI agents from the San Diego office are already there. Adding to his amazement is the apparent culprit Muslim Raheem Khan went after the passerby instead of shooting the outsider like he did two people; the one tossed through the window and one inside. Nothing adds up as the Clay County DA Rich Danko dumps the difficult prosecution on his most likely rival in the upcoming election Max Siegel as this high profile case is political suicide. Well aware what his boss is doing, Max is not prepared for attempts on his life, interference on his case from DC and much worse.

The Khan Dilemma is an exhilarating police procedural legal thriller that grips the audience from the opening scene until the final confrontation that will remind fans of a serious version of the Coen Brothers Burn After Reading. The story line is fast-paced but driven by the idealistic persistency of Max who refuses to give up as he peels away one concentric circle after another seeking the truth. Ron Goodreau provides an entertaining thriller with a strong cast as Cox immediately sets the tone with his logical observations at the crime scene in which 1 and 1 is not 2 and this is the binary system.

Harriet Klausner