The Third Rail

It starts one day with two shootings on Chicago's trains and is followed by a chemical attack on a Catholic church, along with subsequent murders. However, the real beginnings occur many years before and are gradually revealed through a series of flashbacks. The case is eventually untangled by Michael Kelly, ex-cop turned private investigator, with the help of a genius computer hacker. Stephen Hoye really gets into the action, especially when things get hot. He narrates with drama and excitement, but the rare bits of humor don't quite come across. And while Hoye subtly differentiates character voices, they're not always easy to identify. Nonetheless, the story keeps the listener's attention. S.S.R. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Starred review from February 1, 2010
A series of terrifying crimes threatens to paralyze Chicago in Harvey's stellar third novel featuring Chicago PI Michael Kelly (after The Chicago Way
and The Fifth Floor
). First, a gunman executes two people, apparently at random at different locations, while they ride the T, the city's elevated railway. Next, the sniper shoots at commuters on Lake Shore Drive, killing three people while missing Kelly's girlfriend, Judge Rachel Swenson. Kelly suspects the shooter has an accomplice, a theory dismissed by official law enforcement. The hard-boiled investigator, who at age nine survived a horrific subway accident at the site of one of the T murders 30 years earlier, wonders if there could be a link between that past tragedy and the current spree. The author deftly alternates between his hero's first-person perspective and third-person accounts of the mindsets of the men Kelly seeks. Harvey stakes a persuasive claim as the pre-eminent contemporary voice of Chicago noir. 100,000 first printing; 8-city author tour.