Bomber's Law
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
A winding tale of suspicion and intrigue, George V. Higgins skillfully recounts the story of elusive Short Joey Mossi.
When detective sergeant Harry Dell’Appa went into enforced exile in the Berkshires to put an end to an ill-fated office romance, he didn’t expect to be called back to Boston so soon. But desperate times…so the saying goes, and head detective Brian Dennison is keen for Short Joey Mossi, a suspected mob exterminator, to be arrested once and for all. Dell’Appa is called in to assist detective Bob Brennan, an old rival of his, who despite knowing all there is to know about Mossi, has never apprehended him. The plot thickens and Dell’Appa learns time and time again of the primacy of Bomber’s Law: they always “do it for the money”.
In Bomber’s Law, Higgins operates on a captivating policy of “partial disclosure”, leaving the reader to piece together the plot, morsel by morsel.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
``We did it for the money'' is retired lawman Bomber Lawrence's explanation for any piece of bad behavior, and Higgins's latest feast of dialogue (after Defending Billy Ryan ) often illustrates Bomber's Law. Recalled to Boston after a 12-month exile in the Massachusetts sticks, sergeant Harry Dell'Appa replaces Bob Brennan on a stakeout of Short Joey Mossi, a reputed mob hit man on whom the police have as yet been unable to pin anything. Going through Brennan's file on Mossi, Dell'Appa finds it suspiciously light; longstanding mutual dislike between the two cops makes it easy for Harry to believe there's something fishy going on. The reason for their antagonism and the results of Dell'Appa's suspicions are revealed in Higgins's preferred style, which favors dialogue--or rather, monologues--over narrative descriptions. The simple, precise plot constantly gets lost in the author's urge to reproduce the exact cadences of his characters' speech; individual sentences are accurate, realistic and very well written, but the endless digressions and stories within the story are rambling and undramatic, especially when compared to the dialogue that is directly plot-motivated. Still, with an author who uses monologues like arias to create atmosphere and character, plot naturally takes second place. Perhaps that's Higgins's Law: He did it for the dialogue. BOMC selection.
