THE UNDERGROUND MAN

by J.P. Hailey ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 30, 1990

Breezy Steve Winslow ( The Baxter Trust, The Anonymous Client) returns, not quite in tiptop humor but again with a wealthy client to defend. Billionaire Jack Walsh, who sold his house out from under his greedy relatives and has gone to live in a subway tunnel, consults Steve about making out his own will, writes one leaving everything to his green-haired, crack-dealing teen-age nephew (who defended him when the rest of the family had him committted to Bellevue; Steve got Walsh out), and then burns to death on a subway platform. Whodunit? Steve tracks down his former girlfriend, but she has an alibi and a new boyfriend (as well as a plane ticket to Rio); the various, nefarious Walsh relatives; and then must defend the green-haired Jeremy when he's flamed for the murder. Up against old adversary D.A. Dirkson, Steve again harangues, amuses, and riles the witnesses, the jury and the judge, while his secretary Tracey and old p.i. buddy Mark Taylor piece together the family history, the real identity of the corpse, and the author of the postcard sent from Rio after the case is concluded. Hailey (a.k.a. Parnell Hall) gallops along with his usual disrespect for the American legal system, though his jibes seem tired here. Passable, but not as freewheeling as his first two Winslow books.

Pub Date: April 30, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Donald Fine

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1990

Categories: FICTION