HARRY'S LAST TAX CUT

Richly entangling second take on Jay Jasen, tax accountant- enrolled agent (Casualty Loss, 1991)—a truly novel hero, who might be called The Crying Detective. In the previous outing, Jay inherited his dead brother's two small children, Dillon and Jennifer. Here, their problems keep his emotions simmering, so much so that whenever Jay's about-to-be new partner in tax matters, Harry Sage, turns up on Riverside Drive with his throat cut, or Jay's new silver-eyed girlfriend seemingly jilts him for Jay's bisexual tax partner Carol, or the kids' pet cat Tiger has its neck broken by an intruder, Jay breaks down into a crying jag—a really healthy one that underlines the reality of what's happening. Jay's charged emotional contact with the kids and with the mayhem falling down on him—including the Moonies and some coldblooded killers who may well wish to cut Jay's throat—keeps the reader hopping with strong feelings for Jay and with a sense of Weikart's discovery of fresh fields in the genre: the hero's heart, his family feelings, his jealous rages that drive him onto the couch, sobbing. Harry's last tax cut, as you might guess, is around his throat. Jay Jasen will cut his way into your chest, with a big tax on your late hours.