Double Dead

When Detroit mayor Harris Yancy is murdered by two masked gunmen while enjoying an evening with his call-girl mistress, prosecutor Jesse King discovers that his own independent investigation into the crime has brought him into conflict with some powerful and ruthless enemies. 20,000 first printing.

Hardwick fulfills the promise of his first novel (Cold Medina, 1996) with a chilly tale of a black district attorney on the run in Detroit's back alleys. When Harris Yancy, Motown's popular mayor, is knifed to death at the end of an evening with Ramona Lake, his part-time mistress, she breaks away from two ski-masked assassins, carrying the small black suitcase with which she fought them off. Picked up as the designated fall gal in the high-profile killing, Mona tells her story to Jesse King, an up-and-coming star in the prosecutor's office. Against the wishes of his superiors, Jesse launches a quiet investigation that convinces him Mona is innocent. Before he can get her off the hook, however, Jesse himself is framed for murder. Breaking Mona out of the hospital ward where she's being detained, he takes it on the lam in search of the suitcase whose contents may clear them both. Unsure where to turn, Jesse follows Mona's lead. To his chagrin, the street-smart Mona reestablishes contact with her sometime homies, a vicious gang (the Nasty Girls) that's trying to gain a piece of the inner-city drug action. All but lost in the bleak, nihilistic ghetto world of his youth, Jesse stays in touch with a loyal cop who keeps him up to date on behind-the-scenes maneuverings in the political vacuum created by Yancy's untimely demise. With a line on mayoral wannabes and the rival interests that are bankrolling them, he has a better idea of who might be responsible for the slayings. Before Jesse can act on these insights, though, he's not only got to recover the elusive suitcase but elude well-informed hit men, survive the lawless jungle of the 'hood, and bring Mona back alive to corroborate his story. Gritty urban fare with a welcome sense of irony--and an appreciation of how little separates a community's powerbrokers from its criminal classes. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This second novel from the author of Cold Medina appears to offer a neat variation on the familiar theme of competing lawyers who used to be lovers, but it doesn't entirely live up to its promise. While the story is interesting (the mayor of Detroit murdered, and the solution to the mystery may lie in his briefcase--if anyone can find it), it is ultimately predictable. And while the characters seem at first to be fairly original and show distinct flashes of life, they are never developed to the point that they step off the page. Double Dead seems, in a sense, to be a first draft of a much better novel. Hardwick is certainly a writer with promise, and some libraries may want to purchase this flawed effort on the grounds that, if the author improves, all of his work may soon be in demand. Marginally recommended for large mystery collections. David Pitt

Detroit's esteemed mayor, Harris Yancy, is conducting a tryst with his mistress, Ramona Blake, when two assassins stab him to death. Amazingly, Ramona manages to elude her would-be killers, taking the briefcase that Harris was carrying. Jesse King, a driven, well-respected, and scrupulous assistant prosecutor for Wayne County, is called into the case. Trying to piece together this bizarre crime is no easy task, especially when it appears that the mayor was involved in some shaky transactions. Opposing Jesse in the legal battle is his ruthless ex-lover, Karen Blake. When Jesse is framed for Karen's brutal murder, he teams up with Ramona, and the unlikely duo take to the streets of Detroit in an effort to save their lives and clear their names. Hardwick (Cold Medina, Dutton, 1996) does an admirable job of creating a vivid picture of big-city politics and street crime, and this exciting, well-written novel is recommended for most public libraries.?Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.