From Publishers Weekly
When someone strangles promising local TV newscaster Virginia Carville, Cleveland PI Milan Jacovich gets a call he wants to refuse, but can't. His former lover, Mary Soderberg, a sales executive at the TV station, asks Milan to help the man she dumped him for, Steve Cirini, now the top suspect because he was among Carville's many sex partners. Milan's current flame, Nicole Archer, resents Mary's involvement, but he takes the case (his seventh, following The Duke of Cleveland). On Carville's computer disk, Milan discovers notes that might, if deciphered, unmask the murderer. A powerful station manager, a veteran anchorwoman and the pompous Cirini all have possible motives. Something also seems fishy about the bestselling romance writer who lived next door to Carville. The payoff punch, although nicely concealed, may remind some readers of Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent, but that's a minor letdown in this solid, keep-you-guessing mystery. Former television producer Roberts writes knowingly of the medium; newscaster sleeping with sales manager makes a timely metaphor for the ethics of broadcast journalism. Roberts affectionately weaves in the history and rich ethnic mix of Milan Jacovich's Cleveland turf.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
If John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee lives on, it's in Les Roberts' Milan Jacovich. Like the legendary McGee, Jacovich is a man of principle, a quixotic philosopher, and a gentle giant who's wise, caring, and as confused about life as the rest of us. Milan has moved his office to Cleveland's Collision Bend area on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. His old flame, Mary Soderberg (for whom Milan still carries a torch), is distraught when her lover and colleague is accused of murdering a popular Cleveland television reporter. Even though Mary hasn't spoken to Milan in three years, she turns to him for help. What ensues forces the implacable Milan to face some ugly truths about the human condition. Roberts, who writes some of today's best testosterone-laced PI stories, offers a pithy plot, world-weary but witty dialogue, and an appealing portrait of the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of often-maligned Cleveland. A good choice for all mystery collections.
Emily Melton
