Cut and Run

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 6 OCT 2003

Abbott's latest thriller (after Black Jack Point) plunges readers into the sleazy, seductive world of crime in Houston, Tex. Thirty years ago, Ellen Mosley abandoned her six children, changed her name to Eve Michaels and began laundering money for a major crime family. Now her youngest son, Judge Whit Mosley, is intent on tracking her down, spurred by a request from his dying father. Unfortunately, his timing couldn't be worse because Eve, caught in the middle of a drug deal gone wrong, is on the run from a mob boss's son and his adviser, both of whom blame her for the botched deal and are convinced she has their missing millions. Whit wanders into this lion's den thinking only of finding Eve, but instantly and unbelievably he finds himself playing rough with some of the most insidious criminals in the area. The maternal concern Eve supposedly feels for Whit rings false, but luckily the story's relentless action leaves little time for sentimental reunions. Layers of deception pile up faster than dead bodies, and readers may loose track of the story's many threads; but each page offers up the kind of brutal action and blunt dialogue ("They'll blow the fingers off his hand one by one. Cut off his balls. Cut him so he bleeds to death an inch at a time") that should gratify Abbott's fans.