FIRETRAP

A detective investigates a homicide related to a new, powerful drug in Eskin’s mystery novel.

Washington, D.C.–based detective Marko Zorn arrives at a car fire that turns out to be a homicide; the person in the driver’s seat died in the blaze. Zorn’s then summoned to meet with local crime boss Sister Grace, who tells him there’s a new, lethal drug on the streets called Speedball, and that the gang dealing it is organized and dangerous (the ringleader goes by “Dr. Love”). Marko is able to identify the fire victim as a biochemist who worked with pharmaceuticals, including a painkiller called Zemlon. The investigation turns perilous when Marko confronts the mysterious Dr. Love and is assaulted by a couple of men likely under his command. Still, he continues to follow leads, both regarding the street drug Speedball and the massive pharmaceutical company, Altavista, that makes Zemlon (and is working on a new drug to replace it). Marko gets stonewalled by everyone: Altavista, the FDA, and the new police chief, Kelly Flynn. It quickly becomes clear that the new medication is likely dangerous, and that the company making it is not above taking out anyone who is working to prove it’s unsafe. Marko investigates the connections between the pharmaceutical company, the street gang, and the shady capital management company that finances the pharmaceutical company. The mystery is complex, although it seems clear from the beginning that there’s a link between Speedball and the pharmaceuticals. Marko is a compelling character; he’s the archetypal cop who doesn’t always play by the rules, which puts him at odds with the powers that be in the police department, and he sometimes uses subterfuge and violence to get the information he needs to solve his case. (“I know your type,” the new chief announces. “You’re vigilantes at best and psychos at worst. There’s always one in every police department. Men—and they’re always men—who think they’re above the law.”) He maintains readers’ sympathy, though, because it’s never in question that he’s ultimately working on the side of good. The tightly constructed story moves along at a brisk clip.

A complex, fast-paced mystery.