SAFE HARBOR

Originally published in 1995 in the UK, this typically dark Izzi psychothriller makes its US debut posthumously. That Tommy Torelli was a stand-up guy everybody from mob boss Pete Papa on down took on faith. Tough, stoical, he never whined, never complained, and the idea that he might rat to cut himself a deal was laughable. And yet somebody who certainly should have known better got antsy. There was Tommy in police custody, and inexplicably Pete Papa decided extra pressure was warranted. So the word came down to Tommy—blow the whistle on your friends and you can blow taps for your kid. Bad mistake. Tommy’s love for Mario, his baby son, was ferocious, limitless. A threat to the child and all bets were off. To whisk Mario out of danger, Tommy made a beeline for the FBI’s Witness Protection Program and pulled its camouflaging blanket over both their heads. Suddenly, mobsters all over New York were going to jail as the result of Tommy’s information, and one—a very special case—met his death. The thing that made Terri DeLayne so special was James Bracken, world-class buttonman. Terri and Bracken were lovers. Fifteen years (and maybe fifty killings later), Bracken was still searching for Tommy, his all-consuming need for vengeance undiminished. But Tommy, now Mark Torrence, respected citizen, dedicated Chicago youth worker, devoted husband was in a “safe harbor.” Still, his eyes remained “vacuum cleaners, sweeping the streets.” Because no one had to tell him that the Torelli persona continued to cling, that retribution had legs, and that Bracken was out there somewhere. This is the second (after The Criminalist, 1998) of Izzi’s novels to be published after his death in 1996. As always, you get few of the graces, plenty of story, and some scenes of undeniable power.