SNOWJOB

Canadian police chief Reid Bennett and his attack-trained canine sidekick Sam (Flashback, 1992, etc.) now descend on Chambers, Vermont, to clear Reid's old friend (``Semper Fi'') Doug Ford of a Murder One rap. Doug, the only black cop in town, was known to be cheating on his wife with Cindy Laver, the bookkeeper at Cat's Cradle ski resort—so when Cindy's killed, and the deposit she was on her way to make winds up in Doug's car (fifty grand), things naturally look bad. Doug, however, says that he and Cindy were on the verge of breaking a big money-laundering operation, and as the bodies pile up, Reid and Doug's partner, Pat Hinton, believe him. Meanwhile, the town's most prestigious attorney, angling for a judgeship, offers Reid advice that advances his cause; a mobster commits suicide; a brother steals in order to finance his sickly brother's medicine; Sam is impounded; and Reid is beaten up in back alleys, parking lots, etc. (between talks with New Jersey mafiosi, local racists, and yuppies at Brewskis, the local drinking hole). Implausible plotting, but nice takes on black/white small-town undercurrents, Semper Fi friendships, and the love of a man for his dog.