A jogger falls to her death from a bridge in a Philadelphia park. A teenager dies when his bike collides with a bus. A young woman is found dead in a downtown office building. All the deaths can be explained. None results in the prosecution of a murderer. Friendly, charming insurance man Jim Hartman has devised the perfect crimes.
Hartman's the fellow you meet at the civic club. He has known your family for years, he comes to the house to sell you a policy and to offer solace in a time of trouble. He's also a clever killer.
He picks his victims for their youth and future earning potential. Because they are young, their deaths are worth millions in lawsuits for damages. The government and large corporations pay out huge amounts to grieving families, with Hartman taking a large but secret cut. No one suspects the scheme. No one but George Gray, a disillusioned reporter turned crime-fighting vigilante.
Gray (George Herman Gray, named for Babe Ruth) has his own brand of justice. When honest, good people have no chance of recovering the money they are owed, he'll use a dangerous form of blackmail to make sure the guilty pay. Determined to get vengeance and justice for a friend who has been cheated of his late wife's life insurance, Gray suspects some kind of fraud. It's fraud, all right, but much, much more.
Following a treacherous path of discovery, one that leads him to a brilliant woman lawyer with a riveting story of her own, Gray learns the horrific truth of Hartman'scrimes, even as he and Hartman move toward their inevitable showdown.
Gritty and galvanizing, this powerful page turner from critically acclaimed author Philip Harper delivers sharp insight into real-world corruption and asks intriguing questions about the meaning of justice.
