The Big Silence (Abe Lieberman Mystery) - Softcover

Kaminsky, Stuart M.

4

217 ratings by Goodreads

9780812575194: The Big Silence (Abe Lieberman Mystery)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0812575199 ISBN 13: 9780812575194

Publisher: Forge Books, 2001

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Abe Lieberman is a strong, sympathetic character, an Everyman whose love for his family is only matched by his quiet, zealous commitment to justice: "A figure out of Talmudic lore-endearing, wise in his crotchets, weary with his wisdom." says The Washington Post. He loves what he does and it takes its toll as his commitment to what is right is sorely tested every day on the mean streets of Chicago. As a moral man, he is sometimes faced with some uncomfortable ethical choices in order to see that justice-rather than the letter of the law-is metered out.

The Big Silence takes Lieberman and his Irish partner, Bill Hanrahan-the Rabbi and the Priest, as they are known on the streets-on a journey that will test their consciences to the limit. When the young son of an informant in a governmental witness protection program is kidnapped and a grisly death occurs, they will have to make some hard choices to make things right. Told with compassion and with the keen insight into the human psyche, The Big Silence is gritty, compelling...and unforgettable.

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Review:

Veteran Chicago detective Abe Lieberman has things on his mind. His daughter's in from L.A., having left her husband. In addition, a small-time Korean gangster who lost his livelihood thanks to Abe has come to kill him--again.

"You come near here again, you're dead. I think it's better to be alive than dead, but you make up your own mind."
"I can go?" Kim asked warily.
"I wish you would. I've got an important phone call to make."
Kim rose, confused. "You won't even arrest me?"
"No."
Lieberman's foot was driving him crazy. He had to scratch it, and he did.
"So, more dishonor from the Jew devil," Kim said.
"You get your dialogue from very bad Hong Kong movies," Lieberman said. "You need a slightly higher grade of culture. You ever see Mildred Pierce?"

Bill Hanrahan, a pro lineman would-have-been thanks to bad knees, is Abe's longtime partner (cops call them the Rabbi and the Priest) and he, too, has issues. A softball assignment guarding the ex-wife and son of mob-accountant-about-to-sing Mickey Gornitz has just gone south; the woman's been murdered and the boy snatched. It's not the first time a woman's been killed while in Hanrahan's care, although it is the first since he's been sober. The kidnapper's demand to Gornitz--an unwelcome confidant of Abe's--is simple: kill yourself and the boy lives. An untenable situation for all, the resolution of which plumbs the vagaries of philosophy and morality.

Kaminsky has as sure a hand (from character development and dialogue to plot and pacing) as you'll find in any police procedural, and he's got more successful series running than many authors have successful novels. To the wonderful Lieberman series, add his contemporary Russian detective, Porfiry Rostnikov (star of 2000's Fall of a Cosmonaut); his 1940s Hollywood PI, Toby Peters (1991's Poor Butterfly), and his newest, Sarasota process server-cum-people locator, Lew Fonesca (1999's Vengeance). Do yourself a favor and read them all. --Michael Hudson

About the Author:

Stuart M. Kaminsky is the Edgar Award-winning author of the critically acclaimed Inspector Rostnikov, Toby Peters, Lew Fonesca, and Abe Lieberman mystery series. He lives with his family in Sarasota, Florida.

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