SHATTERED TRUST

In Golden’s thriller, an ex-cop and his associate commit to taking down a ruthless criminal organization with influence on almost all city operations.

Police Detective Damon Walker is sentenced to prison for 20 years, convicted on multiple bogus charges after being set up by Mira, his partner on the police force. But later, to his surprise, she’s responsible for his release—one of the book’s many twists and reversals. Billionaire Mira—no last name—travels the world with prolonged stays at a Swiss chalet and a high-rise in Kuala Lumpur. She can afford what it takes to spring Damon, so they can work together to take down the Syndicate in the unnamed city they call home. The pair take on the work of investigative reporter Elaine Cross (a key character in Golden’s novel Beneath the Veil of Vengeance), who was murdered because she “wanted to burn the Syndicate to the ground, and she didn’t care who got caught in the fire.” With Mira as the getaway driver, Damon steals a leather-bound ledger that contains “everything. Bribes to judges, payouts to cops, laundering schemes.” However, he realizes the ledger is only the first step; now he needs to see who’s pulling the strings. So many characters change their allegiance in Golden’s novel that a reader could get whiplash keeping track of who’s on what side. The action is fast, the mood dark, and the dialogue punchy. However, the narrative structure is confusing; it’s not until a third of the way through the book that Elaine is introduced, and it’s her death that sets the story in motion. Overall, though, it’s an action-packed novel, and one that might work well as a graphic novel, due to its noirish descriptions—tailored coats billow in the wind, the glow from a cigarette lighter illuminates a face, and neon colors bleed into rain-soaked streets.

A fast and turbulent mystery tale.