13 MILLION DOLLAR POP

Indianapolis ex-cop Frank Behr (Where the Dead Lay, 2009, etc.) gets dropped into the middle of a case that promises to end his days as a bodyguard as well.

Frank never thought he was cut out for executive protection. The work is servile, and the Caro Group doesn’t pay him well enough to compensate for his issues with authority. But one problem with guarding local developer (and now Senator-designate) Bernard Kolodnik never occurred to him: He might get shot at. The attack comes in a parking garage, and although Behr saves Bernie Cool’s life and earns his gratitude, his efforts on behalf of his agency and their client don’t get him any traction when he tries to find out who fired the shots and why. In fact, both Karl Potempa, the head of Caro’s Indianapolis office, and Shugie Saunders, Bernie’s political consultant, are actively thwarting the investigation he’s running in defiance of Potempa’s command (backed up by Lt. Gary Breslau of the Indianapolis police) to lay off. As Frank staggers along on his own, the forces who wanted Bernie dead bring in Welsh cleanup hitter Wadsworth Dwyer, who in turn calls on Rickie Powell, a good man with an axe, to cauterize the loose ends before Behr can trace them to the top. But even after Caro fires him, Behr turns out to have reinforcements of his own, especially after a horrifying call on Susan Durrant, his pregnant girlfriend, drags Indianapolis cop Eddie Decker, an ex–USMC sniper, into the fray.

A professional-grade actioner that offers compelling evidence for Rickie’s dictum: “When pros lock up, everyone gets hurt.”