Diamond Eye
Arthur Rosenfeld
Forge, Jul 2004, $14.95, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0765309092

The United States Postal Inspection Service is the oldest federal law enforcement agency, but also the least known. The public rarely, if ever, hear of it while postal employees mostly figure that fat bald trolls in suits watching from the ceiling insure they do not steal a first class stamp. That is a function of the department, but the USPIS also investigates "external" crimes like mail fraud and letter bombs.

Max Diamond is one of the USPIS finest, working in Southern Florida. Currently Max has picked up a case from a recently-killed-in-action peer. Max watches tapes of kiddie porn sent illegally through the mail in hopes of finding the distributor until he sees the life of a female participant is snuffed out on a tape. His boss, Wacona Smith, insists it is an amateur production, not a murder, but Max proves otherwise with additional snuff films that he tracks back to a South American connection. He believes that Miami's crime boss O'Burke is behind the deadly videos; Max investigates although he could become the star of his own picture filmed in a Little Havana post office.

DIAMOND EYE is a terrific Southern Florida law enforcement tale starring a warm, witty, fortyish, unique investigator. The storyline is fast-paced as Max makes his inquiries. The support cast either are antagonists or enable the audience to see what motivates Max, although the latter is a duel-edged sword as prime secondary characters fall off the pages without regard. Still, fans will appreciate dedicated Max of the USPIS as he struggles with a deadly case and in his relationships with his grandma, his boss, and his "Phayled" love life.

Harriet Klausner