(5) = Best; (4) = Better; (3) = Good; (2) = Fair; (1) = OK
These abstracts serve as reminders to myself; they serve to "jog" my memory on what a book was all about. That's all. This is not a literary critique, not a social commentary, and certainly nothing profound to warrant further discussion.
(5) = means that I really enjoyed this book; (1) = means I finished reading it but wonder if my time could have been better spent elsewhere.
Two minutes was the time available to a bank robber before police would show up. This was the amount of time it would take once a teller sends a silent signal to the police. The book opens with Marchenko and Parsons in the middle of a bank robbery. They are amateurs and waste a lot of time shooting off a shotgun, scaring customers and acting like bullies. They engage in a shoot out with the waiting police when they rush out of the bank and are killed. This sets the stage for the rest of the book.
Max Holman was a thief and bank robber most all of his life. He’s just been released from prison after 10 years of jail time and he learns that his son, along with three other police officers, were killed by an unknown assailant. Though he had never met his son Max was extremely proud of his achievement in becoming a law enforcement officer. Little did Max realize what was set in motion when he began asking about the circumstances in which the son was killed.
The story is about corrupt police officers and their treasure hunt to find 16 million dollars which were scurried away by Marchenko and Parsons. Max was determined to prove his son was not a corrupt cop.
The police claims that the assailant, Juan Juarez, was caught; that he admitted he was the killer, that he committed suicide and that the case was closed. Juan’s wife claims her husband is innocent and can prove it as they were in the midst of celebrating their son’s birthday at the time when the officers were shot. She had a video of the party and in the background an identifiable TV program was on to confirm the date and time. The video was given to the police but it disappeared. The mystery is compounded when the police chief and his henchman goes out of their way to discourage Holman from asking questions. They do everything to disparage this ex-con. When Max’es best friend, Chee, is jailed by the FBI for possession of illegal explosives Max is convinced there is a conspiracy since Chee would never mess around with bombs.
Max decides to recruit Katherine Pollard for help. She was the arresting FBI officer when he was originally caught in a bank robbery and jailed. He trusts her as she had given him a positive reference. She goes along with his story and begins interviewing the widows of the officers. Katherine’s former FB I boss tells her to cease and desist asking questions about the assassinations.
The story moves along at a fast pace. Crais is a good story teller. (5)
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