Russell Pelton

Enemy in the Shadows Russell Pelton

Organized crime has moved insidiously into the ever-expanding, highly lucrative health-care industry: a new dental school becomes a front for money laundering, and the American Dental Society's vehement opposition to its accreditation is countered by a big-money defamation suit. Enter attorney Tony Jeffries for the defense. His task: to prove that Bill O'Coogan, a prominent, powerful Chicago businessman and philanthropist, is in fact in cahoots with it all. His obstacles: terrifying threats to his family, a midnight home invasion, car bombings, a mob don "retired" to Arizona pulling the strings from offstage. Scenes vividly set in the gritty bars, back alleys, and towering high-rises of Chicago--from the Billy Goat Tavern to Wrigley Field to glittering Lake Shore Drive--culminate in an edge-of-the-seat trial, with Jeffries up against the money, the odds, and a super-slick plaintiff's attorney. Expertly crafted by the acclaimed author of The Dance of the Sharks and The Sting of the Blue Scorpion--a kind of prequel to the one and sequel to the other, but standing firmly on its own--this fast-paced thriller will grip you till the last page has been turned and the last body uncovered.