The Son of John Devlin
A Novel
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Charles Kenney has written an authentic, compelling, morally complex novel of the men and women of law enforcement, penetrating the very heart of police culture--and bringing the powerful, tumultuous brotherhood of cops brilliantly to life. In The Son of John Devlin, a determined detective fights to clear his father's tarnished name.
The U.S. Justice Department has declared war on the widespread corruption in Boston's police force, turning up the heat big time for detective Jack Devlin, assigned to snare cops on the take and root out vice in the rank and file. "The dirty cop will inevitably reveal himself. He'll always give off a sign, an indication."
Tough words to hear for Jack Devlin, whose father was tied to the biggest scandal in Boston's history. Stripped of his honor, Jock Devlin died disgraced, a suicide, before his case went to trial--an act of cowardice that forced young Devlin to grow up in the shadow of his father's shame, creating personal demons that would drive him from a promising career as a Harvard-educated lawyer into the unlikely field of law enforcement.
Now, more than twenty years later, a letter from his father surfaces, pushing Devlin to reopen old wounds. Through conflicting emotions of anger and devotion, he searches for truth, hoping to uncover the secrets behind his father's infamous fall from grace and tragic death. But what he finds could bring the Boston police force to its knees--and there are some who would kill to keep history silent.
Flesh and blood characters in a page-turning plot. The gritty language of cops under fire. The explosive tension of the precinct. Charles Kenney weaves these elements into a tight, intelligent novel of people and principle that is also an absorbing, unforgettable thriller.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Deception, greed and betrayal drive this well-plotted, moving thriller. Rough-edged but appealing Jack Devlin, a Harvard Law grad who's now a detective with the Boston police, has been assigned to covertly investigate suspected corruption in the BPD ranks. Devlin knows about dirty cops--his father killed himself when he was accused of bribery, a disgrace his son has never lived down. In fact, the influence of the past permeates and corrodes the events at the heart of this stunning story. For a while, Devlin's investigation seems linked with Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Lawrence's probe of a giant morphine deal involving a former state legislator, and Devlin plays a dicey double game with Lawrence as he falls in love with her bold, canny beauty. But when Devlin finds a letter his father wrote just before his suicide, his anger, shame and devotion set him on a parallel investigation--to uncover the truth behind his father's dishonorable death. All investigations, the corrupt and courageous, converge in the powerful ending, in which readers understand that nothing is as it has seemed. Filled with tough, poignant portraits, disappearing evidence, suspenseful stakeouts and unexpected plot twists, Kenney's (Code of Vengeance) thriller is also distinguished by the author's compassion for his characters.