Badger
Games
A
"Fang" Mulheisen Mystery
Jon
A. Jackson
Atlantic
Monthly Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-87113-851-4 (0871138514)
ISBN-13: 978-0-87113-851-4 (9780871138514)
Publication Date: June 2002
List Price: $24.00
Synopsis (from the publisher): A former freelance contractor to the Mob and longtime nemesis of hard-boiled Detective "Fang" Mulheisen, Joe Service is now in the employ of the Lucani, a cadre of rogue government agents who have recently lost an operative known only as Franko. Franko, last seen in a Kosovar mountain village in the path of a drug-smuggling ring, was from Montana - so Joe and his lover, Mafia princess Helen Sedlacek, head to Butte to see what they can learn. But they're not the only ones. A volatile mercenary nicknamed the Badger is also looking for Franko; and the Lucani have sent backup - to help Joe or contain him, he's not sure - in the form of a bombshell who rivals Lara Croft for sex appeal and dangerous moves. They are quickly caught up in a deadly hunt in the rough-hewn mountain landscape, culminating in a terrifying night in the tunnels of an abandoned mine.
Review:
Readers expecting an appearance by Detective Sergeant Mulheisen in this
ninth entry of the mystery series, Badger
Games,
will be disappointed. Accidently skip a page and you've missed the only
reference to the namesake of the series.
That being said, this is a reasonably entertaining book. Joe Service is
one of those characters for whom you end up feeling sorry: sure, he's
got a lot of faults (killing people being one of them), but look past
these faults and he's not a bad guy. The plot is fairly complicated but
Jackson keeps the story moving along at a brisk pace to its inevitable
conclusion.
The books in this series read like chapters to a greater story. But, as
in the case of Badger Games,
it isn't necessary to read the previous installments to enjoy the book
at hand. It's not clear where Jackson is taking this series, but it
sure is a grand ride.
Special thanks to Atlantic Monthly Press for providing a copy of Badger Games for this review.
Review Copyright © 2002 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Badger Games? How would you rate it?
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Omnimystery
keywords for Badger Games
...
Location(s) referenced: Butte, Montana.
