SHAKEDOWN
Joel Goldman
Pinnacle Books
Thriller
ISBN: 9780786016105

• Read an Excerpt
• Author Talk –– April 4, 2008

I am old enough to remember a day when the best of genre fiction was published in paperback, readily available at the corner drugstore or the supermarket. I’m beginning to see evidence of a return to those days, and part of Exhibit “A” would be SHAKEDOWN by Joel Goldman.

Goldman takes a hiatus from his series featuring Kansas City attorney Lou Mason, keeping the geographical locale the same while giving a guided tour of its back streets (where the buses don’t run). He sucks you in right at the beginning with his streetwise account of Marcellus Pearson, a drug-dealing gang leader who gives money to the mother of one of his fallen soldiers for her son’s funeral and some extras. However, none of the folks you meet in the first few pages of SHAKEDOWN are going to be around long, as they are done in by Latrell Kelly, a neighbor of Marcellus’s whose blasé appearance belies a cunning intelligence and, as we quickly learn, a sociopathic personality.

The sudden, violent deaths of Marcellus and his associates attract the attention of FBI Special Agent Jack Davis, who questions the timing of the murders. Jack has been leading a team that has had Marcellus and his operation under surveillance and wonders if perhaps there was a law enforcement leak that led to the murders. But Jack has problems of his own. He is in the midst of a divorce and is experiencing violent trembling episodes that leave him momentarily incapacitated. Worst of all, his daughter Wendy is romantically involved with a member of his team. Ultimately, Jack is involuntarily placed on medical leave until the etiology and severity of his condition can be determined.

Jack begins his own clandestine, unapproved investigation into the murder of Marcellus and his crew. He is aided by Kate Scranton, an expert in the decoding of facial expressions and, incidentally, a budding romantic interest for him. Immediately Kate sees that Jack is a force to be reckoned with, even as he sets his sights elsewhere, inadvertently stirring up a situation that leads him to places he never expected and placing those he loves most in significant peril --- though the greatest danger is to himself.

It is impossible to say too much about Goldman’s characterization and plotting in SHAKEDOWN. Jack is a riveting character who is quite difficult to forget. A great deal of the book is told in the first person, from Jack’s viewpoint; Goldman perfectly captures his down-but-not-out, seasoned-but-not-weary voice, encapsulating the attitude of a man near the end of his career but wanting to go out on his own terms. As for the plotting, the novel contains not one but two mysteries that slowly dovetail into each other. The resolution of one of these puzzles is known early to the reader but not to Jack. The solution to the other mystery remains unknown to both reader and character until almost the conclusion. Watching Jack unravel both problems is an unforgettable experience.

While all is resolved at the conclusion, there remains plenty of fodder for a sequel, and more. A Jack Davis series would be a good thing; let’s hope for one.

    --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

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