"A mystery with plenty of surprises"
In Chicago, Malachy Foley tries to regain his license
to practice law in the State of Illinois, but he deals
poorly with the bureaucracy, which in turn delays his
achieving his objective. Five years ago, Mal refused to
reveal what his client confided in him despite a State
Supreme Court order stating that this was not privileged
information. Three people including a cop subsequently
died. Mal lost his license and turned to private
investigating work. Besides his inability to cooperate with the
bureaucracy, someone does not want Mal to petition for his
license while other individuals try to assist the barred
attorney. Everything returns to the case that started
Mal's downfall when it went bad for everyone except for one
person who cleverly escaped with five hundred thousand
dollars and plenty of cocaine to sell. That individual is
willing to kill to insure Mal never uncovers the full truth. The fourth Mal Foley tale, NO SHOW OF REMORSE, provides
greater insight into the values and principles of the key
character than the previous books. However, as the
audience learns more about Mal, the story line takes a bit
slower to leave the launch pad. Once the plot attains
orbit, it never slows down as readers gain a novel that
switches from a character study to an action packed who-
done-it. David J. Walker entertains his fans with a strong
private investigative tale with some touches of a legal
procedural that adds spice to the fine mix. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted March 14, 2002
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Chicago private eye Mal Foley was a lawyer once. Then he
disobeyed a court order requiring him to reveal a client's
role in a shootout that left three people dead, one of them
a cop, and his law license was revoked. Now years removed
from that fateful day, Mal is filing a petition to get his
license reinstated. It quickly becomes a problem, however,
as Mal is expected to "express remorse for his misconduct"
in order to satisfy the court, something he steadfastly
refuses to do. In fact, he would withdraw the petition -- if people would
only stop trying to frighten him into doing just that.
Anonymous notes turn into death threats, then into savage
beatings, and finally into murder. It seems no one wants
Mal's petition to lead to a hearing, where testimony might
reveal what really led to the shooting so many years ago. The person with the most to lose should the truth come out
seems to be Jimmy Coletta, a second cop shot that night.
Coletta survived, but has spent his life since in a
wheelchair. Whatever part he played in the shootout, he
seems a good man now, spending his life helping minority
kids who have disabilities. Mal doesn't want to bring Jimmy
down, but soon an innocent man's life depends on Mal
pressing ahead with his petition, no matter who gets
destroyed in the process. Set in Chicago, No Show of
Remorse is a startling novel about crime, corruption, and
their devastating consequences.
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