Weyman Jones Broken Glass

Broken Glass

Weyman Jones

Five Star, Sep 2004, $25.95, 246 pp.

159141851

In Suffolk County, New York twenty-five years ago, a high school junior Freddy fell from the fire escape of the Falcon Nest Hotel during a "club" initiation. Freddy remained in a coma for a few years as his family fell apart in their grief before Freddy finally died.

Over the years though she married and divorced one of them, Freddy's sister Angela suspects four people were involved in the incident though none of them were seemingly impacted by it as her family was. At a high school reunion she informs Michael, Sam, Jock and Hap that she is suing them in the wrongful death of her sibling. Stunned, social worker Sam is further dismayed when Michael's son Mike is caught in a stairwell with an underage client; instead of filing the report he allows history to repeat itself by hiding the truth. However, when someone murders Angela, Sam with the help of his girlfriend, concludes he must face up to his role in the tragedy confronting his three friends.

BROKEN GLASS is an intriguing crime thriller starring a beleaguered protagonist struggling with doing the right thing as for the second time in his life, loyalty to his friends comes in conflict with what he knows he needs to do. The terrific ensemble brings depth then and now, but the conscience and center of the tale is Sam. His dilemmas as a teen and as an adult make for a fine moral thriller, which asks when does one blow the whistle on a friend, family member, etc.

Harriet Klausner