Unmerciful [Paperback]

Larry Schliessmann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 18, 2007

Hacker McKaybees knew the old man was trouble the day his father reentered his life a year ago. Yet some sense of twisted curiosity, or undesirable loyalty to a man he didn't know, drove him to accept the request to help investigate what Hacker felt would be a wasted effort: solve a murder for which a convicted man sat in prison. As his foot hit the first step of his father's building, he knew that before the sun rose over Manhattan, the smell of blood would overpower odors of local Soho residents preparing breakfast. He slowed as he heard his father arguing with someone. Without wanting to alert them and causing the carnage the old man was famous for, he pressed the office door open with the barrel of his Glock. A hinge creaked. Five seconds later, the intruder's body with a hole in his chest, dropped. The old man, still seated, his .45 leaking a tendril of smoke, looked disappointed but satisfied. Hacker knew he was in deep enough that there was only one way out, solve the murder.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The man convicted of killing Ethel Reiser sits in Attica, where he will remain for the rest of his life unless PI Marlowe Black insists on meddling and finds proof to free him. The convict's sister, Peggy, convinces Black that the near perfect evidence collected by the police, DNA and all, were fabricated to frame her brother, Reggie Jones. Ethel's widower, Perry Reiser, insists the Black not take the case, and when Black refuses to comply pulls a gun to enforce his demand.

Black's son, Michael Hacker McKaybees, interrupts Perry Reiser's enraged confrontation with Black. Abruptly, Reiser turns his slienced pistol on McKaybees. Before he can get off a single shot, Black fires a round through his chest. Before the shooting, Black tells his son that his decision to help Jones is based on a gut feeling. McKaybees thinks it is based on insanity. Howerver, Reiser's rash act forces McKaybees to reevaluate and he agrees to help his estranged father with an investigation that nearly costs McKaybees his life.

A father/son team works through a strained relationship adding sardonic humor and inner conflict to a plot with a few interesting twists of prostitution, online sex, failed love, and murder.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com; 1st edition (June 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1430324430
• ISBN-13: 978-1430324430
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Unmerciful, May 1, 2009

By 

Schliessmann "Larry Schliessmann" (South Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unmerciful (Paperback)

The man convicted of killing Ethel Reiser sits in Attica, where he will remain for life unless PI Marlowe Black insists on meddling and finds evidence to free him. The convict's sister, Peggy, convinces Black that the near perfect evidence collected by the police, DNA and all, were fabricated to frame her brother, Reggie Jones. Ethel's widower, Perry Reiser, insists that Black not take the case, pulls a gun to enforce his demand.

When Hacker McKaybees interrupts Perry Reiser's enraged confrontation with Marlowe Black, Reiser turns his silenced pistol on McKaybees.

Before he can fire a single shot, Black, buries a .45 caliper bullet in Reiser's chest. Black calls his decision to help free Jones a gut feeling. McKaybees calls it insane. However, Perry Reiser's rash act forces McKaybees to reassess and he agrees to help his estranged father with the investigation.

At times, father and son work as hard at finding common ground, with lots of sardonic humor, as they do solving crime.