05/01/2023
“Double talk has become second nature,” Brian Bradford declares in Breen’s third novel chronicling Bradford’s clashes with the wicked insurance company ZeiiMed. Bradford’s gift for the legal arts is put to the test in this climactic volume, which picks up from the cliffhanger ending of 2016’s The Device Trial. Bradford’s both victorious and defeated: a suit against ZeiiMed ended in triumph, but Bradford himself was charged with manslaughter after a bloody confrontation with ZeiiMed CEO John Edison and his goons. Now, a wounded Edison is out for revenge, and Bradford—betrayed by his wife—declares himself uncharacteristically unwilling to poke the ZeiiMed bear.
But neither Breen nor Bradford can let an injustice lie, as Breen concocts another story of clever suspense and high-stakes corporate malfeasance that displays a persuasive understanding of law, health industry scams, and a lawyer’s drift of mind. Four years later, in 2016, an unexpected person from Bradford’s past offers a tip that might bring ZeiiMed down—and save lives. ZeiiMed is possibly importing poppies from Afghanistan to peddle illegally in the states as opiates. Soon, Bradford’s back in the game, as a ZeiiMed assassin, in dark and tense scenes, again targets him for death with no regard for civilian casualties.
New readers should understand that this is very much a concluding chapter, one whose first third is dedicated to the aftermath of the previous book, though the new case, once it starts, proves exciting. Bradford’s heroic but also proudly his own man, joking about sexual harassment and pausing the setup chapters to endorse the candidacy of Donald Trump. That’s interesting; less so is the 8 pages in which Bradford’s colleague airs theories about the intelligence community targeting Trump, a passage even MAGA diehards might skim. That action, fortunately, is satisfying, unpredictable, and in the end explosive, as Breen blends high-level legal maneuvering with terror in the streets and waterways of New York.
Takeaway: An attorney’s fight against a diabolical insurance company builds to an explosive climax.
Comparable Titles: Brad Meltzer, David Baldacci.
Production grades Cover: B Design and typography: A- Illustrations: N/A Editing: A Marketing copy: A
