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Mystery
Title: MALICE Author: Robert Wangard Rating:  Must Read!
Publisher: Ampersand, Inc. Web Page: www.ampersandworks.com Publisher's E-mail: rwangard@comcast.net Reviewed by: John Nicholas |
 
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You don't have to have read "Target" to enjoy "Malice," the second Pete Thorsen mystery by Robert Wangard. Thorsen is a corporate lawyer in Chicago who has retired to his vacation home in northern Michigan. Unfortunately, some retirements are not as restful as others, and in "Target" Pete has his initial experience with murder at first hand -- and, not incidentally, finds himself considered a suspect. So it is understandable that when the widow of a recently murdered real estate developer (who has been found brutally bludgeoned on the signature 17th hole of a golf resort) seeks him out to represent her interests in the estate, he reluctantly agrees to merely look into the matter. What the widow doesn't mention is that the Chicago law firm that handles her husband's affairs represents the mob. Pete Thorsen knows a lot about the intricacies and intrigues of big city law firms and small town police departments, but he doesn't seem to know how to stay out of harms way. Eventually a suspect is arrested and charged by the less-than-competent sheriff, but that neither clarifies the crime in Pete's mind, nor does it keep a bunch of thugs from threatening his stepdaughter or persons unknown from torching his cabin. Wangard has done the remarkable in creating a lawyer one can actually like. True, Pete sometimes drinks too much and plays his music too loud, but if you're not his neighbor you can't help but admire his every move. And the guy pursues. When one lead turns dead, he has already determined his next step. There may be something, after all, to thinking like a lawyer.
At any rate, bookreview.com thinks two murder mysteries
involving Pete Thorsen should be just the beginning of a
great series and considers "Malice" not only excellent, but
a great summer read!
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