The Lake Effect

Paying back a favor to the mob, private eye Milan Jacovich reluctantly accepts a job guarding a mayoral candidate, and when he learns of some unethical practices behind the campaign, he becomes a killer's target.

Although Cleveland PI Milan Jacovich, last seen in The Cleveland Connection, comes up against murder, violence, the mob, devious electioneering, a burgeoning love affair and even some timorous pedophilia, his new case is as flat as a Midwest cornfield. Jacovich returns a favor he owes to Victor Gaimari, stockbroker and scion of the Ohio mafia, and agrees to act as security chief for a woman running for mayor in a small exurban town. Candidate Barbara Corns, wife of a legitimate Gaimari client, is bashful, inept and going nowhere in her race against veteran incumbent Gayton True. Although True has a few skeletons in his closet (wifebeating, a kiddie-porn dealer brother-in-law), Barbara's campaign/manager husband ("I call all the shots") refuses to use them. The hit-and-run death of True's wife, hidden plans for a gambling casino, Gaimari's secret backing of True and a would-be producer of kiddie-porn spark up the action only a little. Jacovich waxes nasty about the last but he's only in a four-cylinder dudgeon. We do learn the difference between "kielbasi" and "klobasa"-Serbian and Slovenian words for the same spicy sausage-but even so, there's much sameness here.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A double departure for industrial-security specialist Milan Jacovich (The Cleveland Connection, 1993, etc.): To repay a favor from slimy, well-dressed Victor Gaimari, he signs on as security chief for novice Barbara Corn's underdog mayoral campaign way out in the pristine suburb of Lake Erie Shores. Uncomfortable with both the turf and the job (``This was the first time I'd ever been hired to keep anyone from hurting my client's feelings'')--not to mention his queasiness about the Gaimari connection, which screams setup- -Milan soon finds that the campaign faces even bigger problems than Barbara's pathetic intimidation by Princess True, gimlet-eyed sister of long-term incumbent Gayton True. One: Barbara's take- charge husband, Evan, won't let her use the dirt about Gay True (ballot-tampering son, kiddie-porn brother-in-law) dug up by her savvy campaign manager, Cassandra Pride. Two: Somebody is sending threatening notes and calls to Barbara and Milan. Three: True's chief of security is a vindictive ex-cop who hasn't forgotten that Milan got him tossed off the force. Four: Princess True gets killed by a hit-and-run driver just days before the election. Milan sorts out these problems with vigor and occasional flashes of style, but his work is mostly dutiful, as if he were finishing a dubious four- course meal just to be polite. Even the political setup, which is indeed a fix, is a letdown, and the hit-and-run is from hunger. A pleasant couple of hours--well, more hours than usual for Milan--but don't be fooled: This ragbag of subplots is untidy rather than complex. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Roberts' rugged hero, PI Milan Jacovich, is a lot like Parker's Spenser--he's often in situations where his machismo wars with his principles; he has a strong sense of right and wrong; he's a bit of a renegade; and his beloved hometown (in this case, Cleveland) plays a big role in the story. Milan's latest case has him paying back a long overdue favor to Mob boss Victor Gaimari. Even though Milan dislikes Gaimari, the mobster once helped him save a kid's life, so when Gaimari asks Milan to head out to the posh suburb of Lake Erie Shores to make sure the mayoral election goes smoothly, Milan can hardly say no. Ostensibly, he's supposed to play bodyguard, political adviser, and baby-sitter to Barbara Corns, who's running for mayor on a "Back to Basics" theme. Milan can't believe the candidate is in any danger, especially in such a white-bread-and-mayonnaise town. But there's more to the story than Victor has let on, and after the wife of Barbara's opponent is killed, Milan figures he had better put on his PI hat and go to work. Every new Jacovich adventure is better than the last, and this one is no exception. An outstanding entry in an outstanding series, and a must for every mystery collection. Emily Melton