June 1, 1987
Owen McAllister, dynamic founder of the Denver-based McAllister development company, hires 28-year-old Devlin Kirk, recently resigned from the Secret Service and a Denver native, to monitor Austin Haas, an employee suspected of selling company secrets to a rival organization. On one of his phone taps, however, Kirk hears Haas kill himself, an act that closely parallels the recent suicide of Kirk's own father. Kirk and his trusty sidekick Bunchcroft find themselves drawn deeper into a world of suicide, murder and industrial hanky-panky. Burns (Ground Money, etc.) is once again in fine form. His writing is vivid, bringing to life the city of Denver and its citizens. The narrative moves along quickly and the characters are well-drawn, conversing with lively banter. Although readers will probably identify the villain long before Kirk does, there are enough rewards here to keep the pages turning.