Sleight of Hand - Phillip Margolin
Release Date - April 2013
Phillip Margolin
Harper
Book Review by Bob Walch
If you
remember Dana Cutler from Philip Margolin’s very successful
Washington Trilogy ( Executive Privilege,
Supreme Justice and Capitol Murder), then
you’ll be delighted that the feisty, private investigator is back
on the job.
Dana
seems to be spread a little thin here but, as you’ll see, the two
cases she is working on do eventually merge. First there is the
search for a stolen relic, a medieval scepter that dates back to the
Ottoman Empire. Dana is hired by a mysterious Frenchwoman to track it
down but comes to the conclusion this may be just a wild goose chase.
A more
immediate concern is the problem posed by slick attorney Charles
Benedict. A bit of a chameleon, Benedict is an accomplished amateur
magician and a very discrete professional hit man for the Russian
mob. Benedict has framed a client who hired him to handle a murder
case and the slippery lawyer is convinced he can use his magic to
pull off the perfect crime.
Naturally
Dana stands in the way of this feat and she has no intention of
letting this talented psychopath get away with this very bizarre
plot.
The
partial inspiration for this latest Margolin thriller comes from the
Dashiell Hamett classic, The Maltese Falcon.
The quirky cast of characters and the “quest” theme here are
reminiscent of the Sam Spade classic.
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