Authors: Shelly Waxman and James Nathan Post

Publishers: iUniverse Inc.

Genre: Crime/legal thriller series.

 ISBN: 0595278183

The following review was contributed by: John Walsh & CLICK TO VIEW John Walsh's Reviews

Ryan Sedlack is a psychopathic killer and torturer in the service of the US government during its war in Vietnam. When that war became too official and militarized for him to display his particular range of skills, Sedlack was relocated to the USA where he was enlisted to conduct dirty tricks to blacken the names and reputations of those involved in liberal causes. During one such operation, he and his colleagues were double-crossed and Sedlack ends up arrested and in trouble – but like his colleagues, it is for the wrong crime. He turns to veteran campaigner for the underdog Sam Cohen for assistance in clearing himself instead of resorting to living incognito in the New Mexico desert.

This is the second Sam Cohen Case Adventure by authors Shelly Waxman and James Nathan Post and, for most of the novel, it is a skillfully constructed and compelling read. The use of the barman with a past, Mel Pollard as a counterpart to Sam Cohen receives further subtlety by counterpointing their opinions and motivations with that of Sedlack. Fast moving and with as much sex packed into its 150 pages as there would be in real life, the 1970s is brought to vivid life. Perhaps there could have been more use of the popular culture of the times to lend it even more authenticity but then that might have confused readers unfamiliar with the era (a disturbing and increasingly large number of people appear to be younger than me). The female characters are more believable than in the first case but still appear to be a little too male. However, most attention is likely to be paid to the character of Sedlack and his manipulation by higher powers in the government. He certainly displays villainy of a highly intense nature and quickly becomes hateful. The best sections of the book are those in which we see the world through his eyes, having seen those characters about which he is so dismissive as, so to speak, living and breathing human beings.

If I have a caveat with the novel, it is that the ending falls away from the high standards of the rest of the book. The plot switches away from the human to the political in a way that is slightly schematic. Nevertheless, this is a riotous and exciting tale of human passions and life struggling against the intention of an elected government to erode the human rights and civil liberties of individuals who dissent from the majority view. That makes it, of course, of urgent immediate concern.

John Walsh, Shinawatra International University, February 2005