"Solid investigative tale"
In Cleveland, Cathleen Hartigan arranges a meeting between
her mother Common Pleas Judge Maureen Hartigan and an
almost boy friend private investigator Milan Jacovich. The
Judge wants Milan to find Irish con artist Brian McFall,
who told Maureen, her brother Hugh Cochran, and his friends
that he just came from the "auld" country, but has been
unable to find his cousin in Akron. Brian conned Hugh and
Maureen out of several thousand dollars and stole some
photographs that the Judge wants back. Finding the vanished Brian through his several identities
turns out to be quite easy as someone murdered McFall.
Cleveland Police Lieutenant Florence McHargue lectures
Milan to stay out of her case, but he cannot remain on the
sidelines as Cathleen's family is suspects and he might be
too. Then there is also the real killer targeting Milan
for a spot in THE IRISH SPORTS PAGE, better known as the
obituaries. The latest Jacovich mystery like most if not all the other
series novels contains an entertaining tour of Cleveland
through the ethnic neighborhoods. Though nothing new from
the previous dozen Jacovich tales surface, the
investigation remains fun to observe as readers know what
to expect with Milan retaining his charm as a strong lead
sleuth and his greatest enemy Florence somewhat tolerating
him at best when it is convenient to her case. Fans of the
series will feel fortunate that the thirteenth entry
consists of a solid investigative plot starring a steady
hero. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted July 15, 2002
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Milan Jacovich, Cleveland's private eye extraordinaire,
gets the usual PI's run of cases -- checking on insurance
claims, looking for missing persons, validating a job
applicant's credentials. But now and again, along comes the
unusual case -- one that is really out of Milan's sphere,
but which he takes on from a sense of justice, for personal
reasons, and even if the client can't afford to pay.
There's nothing pro bono about Milan's current case. His
client is a woman of status and wealth. But it is
definitely on the personal side. It seems that Judge
Maureen Hartigan has a serious problem that she wants to
kept quiet. And since her daughter Cathleen and Milan have
had an off-again-on-again friendship, which only teeters on
the edge of something more, she asks Cathleen to call him.
Judge Hartigan, a woman of impeccable reputation, has
unwittingly given refuge to a scam artist. Through her,
Cathleen had become involved with the man, and all because
Cathleen's cousin Hugh had been a sucker. It happened in a
familiar way: The man came into an Irish bar, made a
beeline for Hugh, who was drinking alone and a little in
his cups, told him that he was just off the plane from
Ireland, and that his luggage, containing not only his
clothes but his passport and wallet, was lost; he had no
clean clothes, no money, no identification, no credit
cards. Could Hugh help him until the luggage was found? A
fellow Irishman, thought Hugh, even to one a couple of
generations removed from the Auld Sod? Sure. Judge Hartigan didn't expect to recover the money
this "Brian McFall" had stolen. She wanted revenge. It was
Milan's job to find the man. Then he was saved the trouble
when McFall turned up shot to death. The missing-person
case became a homicide, one that Lieutenant McHargue,
Milan's nemesis, warned him to keep out of. Milan didn't
heed the warning.. He wanted to finish what he started, he
wanted to help Cathleen and her mother. What he did not
want was to become the target of a killer. But in Milan's
business, you can't have everything, now can you? Readers, however, will get what they want: an engaging,
thrill-packed story with a number of characters they would
like to meet -- and a few they wouldn't.
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