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HOSTILE TAKEOVERS
by Michael A Black
Leisure Books, August 2009
353 pages
$7.99
ISBN: 0843962720


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Author Michael A Black takes on the mean streets of the south Chicago suburbs and an impending war over drug turf in this latest thriller, HOSTILE TAKEOVERS. In this case, two drug lords are battling it out as a new drug comes to the fore, crystal meth. As police try to rein in the bloodletting before the drug takes over the crack business, yet other crimes must be pursued to ensure that the reports to higher ups show crime fighting has been successful.

At the heart of this gritty novel about life inside the county sheriff's department is the relationship between two officers, Frank Leal and his partner Olivia "Ollie" Hart. Leal has been a mentor to Hart, and they have a history together. As the story opens, Hart has been reassigned to street work in Robertsville, and Leal is trying to get her back to Investigations and her role as his partner there.

Meanwhile, there are other complications in their personal lives. Leal's best friend is getting remarried and eventually faces a health crisis. An old friend from the academy is under the threat of indictment. When an informant for Leal turns up dead, he is prevented from pursuing the murder investigation as a string of robberies takes hold.

Meanwhile, former partner Ollie Hart is facing her own challenges, not only from the old boys' network at the cop shop, but also a potential medical disaster (breast cancer). While the old partners try to work out their own personal issues, the drug war heats up and eventually manages to bring them together again, albeit in a very dangerous way.

While this all seems like a lot of activity for one book, it's never convoluted. Author Michael A Black (a current officer of the law himself) has his finger on the tempo of the city and its criminal underworld. Most of all, he takes us inside the very flawed but human world of law enforcement, sorting out the good and bad cops even while it may not be readily apparent to the outside world. He shows the political aspects of policing, the crooked politics, the sometimes unjust legal structure, and the disheartening world of drug criminals, all with perfect aplomb.

There's no sugar coating here, no attempt to dress up the world of crime fighting as something glamorous. It's just two honest cops trying to do the right thing, while surrounded by incompetents, alcoholics, drug dealers, and those on the take (both in the department and out on the streets). Although sometimes very bleak, it's always riveting reading, and readers will feel like they've gotten a glimpse of something very real in HOSTILE TAKEOVERS.

Reviewed by Christine Zibas, November 2009

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