Flesh and Blood - Hardcover

Harvey, James Neal

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312109857 ISBN 13: 9780312109851

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1994

Synopsis

NYPD Lieutenant Ben Tolliver investigates the sordid life and death of former U.S. Senator Clayton Cunningham III, despite attempts on his own life and a steadily decreasing pool of witnesses. By the author of Painted Ladies.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Whatever else it may lack, the third Ben Tolliver book ( By Reason of Insanity ; Painted Ladies ) has a setup that strongly resembles the circumstances of Nelson Rockefeller's infamous demise. Powerful ex-U.S. Senator Clayton Cunningham III, head of an old New York robber-baron family, is found dead in the townhouse headquarters of the family's foundation, in the company of glamorous reporter Jessica Silk. We discover quite quickly that Cunningham was a rotter, and learn soon enough that Silk, who is subsequently found dead, did not commit suicide. We also see that the feuding Cunninghams are involved in shady doings: scratch out any suspense from these angles, or any other. As the plot progresses further into formula, we're not surprised that so many people want to thwart obtuse New York City police detective Tolliver--though we do wonder how in the world he ever made lieutenant. The book really goes off the rails at the Cunningham's Long Island estate, where TV reporter Shelley Drake, Tolliver's girlfriend, begins to act like Nancy Drew and Tolliver turns into 007, which behavior leads to a gory climax and a Jacobean body count. Characterization and writing are pedestrian, proving only that, for Tolliver and Drake, it's more effective to be lucky than smart. Smart readers won't bother with this.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

The death of Sen. Clayton Cunningham III, evidently a fatal case of coitus interruptus, is too hot for just anybody to handle, so to keep the lid on, the DA's office sends for Lt. Ben Tolliver (Painted Ladies, 1992). Like many other aspects of this overripe thriller, that's a dumb choice, since Tolliver's just the man to uncover all the Cunningham family skeletons (too numerous to list here, and too predictable to bother listing) and then refuse to toe the line about burying them. Teamed with Jack Mulloy, the officer who's been heading the ongoing investigation into the shaky Cunningham financial empire, and TV newshound Shelley Drake, who insists that Cunningham was into nasty sex, Ben follows the trail of a $50 million payoff he's convinced will lead to the smoking gun. Meanwhile, former Cunningham employee Jan Demarest, beaten and left for dead, stirs uneasily in her coma as her sister Peggy waits by her bedside singing hosannas to those wonderful Cunninghams, who footed her medical bills.... Slick, crude, and empty-headed. P.S.: They're all guilty. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0312109857
• ISBN 13: 9780312109851
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 341