Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
The Son of John Devlin
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Charles Kenney
Class/Genre: Mystery Police Procedural
Ballantine, Jan 1999, $22.95, 320 pp.
Over two decades have passed since the John Devlin scandal rocked the Boston police department. John killed himself rather than face the shame of a trial. John's son Jack never recovered from the dishonor to the family name. Jack gave up law school to become a cop and regain what his father apparently threw away.
Jack is working on an investigation that brings him into the orbit of US Assistant Attorney Emily Lawrence's inquiries into a drug deal. Jack uncovers a letter written by his father just before his death. The note stirs Jack's wrath, making him obsessed with the need to learn what really happened to his sire while enacting his own personal code of vengeance.
THE SON OF JOHN DEVLIN is more than a brilliant police procedural, which it happens to be. A son's love for a disgraced father drives the novel's story line in such a way that fans of the sub-genre will beg for more works from awesome Charles Kenney. The plot is fantastic, raising the bar for police procedurals to an uncanny level. However, it is the characters that set this story apart from the norm and make for a fine reading regardless of genre attachment.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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