"Hard hitting urban noir"
Three years may have passed, but African-American Blades
Overstreet remains bitter over the incident that nearly
cost him his life and ultimately did cost him his wife.
During a bust, an undercover white cop "accidentally" shot
police officer Blades, who felt it was a deliberate effort
to eliminate a black cop. The brass told him to shut up so
he quit and sued. The acrimonious aftertaste and avenging
obsession over the subsequent two years led to his wife
Anais leaving him to go to California. Jimmy Lucas once saved Blades' life so he now asks a big
favor of Blades. Jimmy wants Blades to help his "Precious"
find her long lost father. Warning Jimmy that the debt is
now paid, Blades begins making inquiries only he finds a
murdered FBI agent during his investigation. Already
detested by the NYPD brass and most of its rank and file
for failing to live up to its blue color code, Blades finds
federal and local law enforcement want to hang his black
butt with the crime. He knows he needs to uncover with 200
proof evidence the identity of the real culprit or he will
find himself behind bars. Though containing a powerful condemnation of racism, this
exciting urban noir is clearly for those in the audience
who appreciate macho males bragging about sexual conquests
in between acts of violence. So the question begs itself
as to why this suburban female reviewer kept reading in
spite of feeling like an outsider. Somehow Blades hooks
the reader as an underdog David who the audience follows in
hopes he wins the day against entrenched Goliath
bureaucracies and regains his love. This work is clearly
for specified sub-genre fans that will enjoy Blade's New
York City joy ride. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted June 24, 2003
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