cover image Breach of Trust

Breach of Trust

David Ellis, Putnam, $25.95 (432p) ISBN 978-0-399-15710-3

Ellis's fine second Jason Kolarich legal thriller (after The Hidden Man) finds the former Chicago prosecutor, whose first wife and child died in a car accident, happily remarried with a new baby daughter and working as a defense attorney for the prestigious law firm of Shaker, Riley and Flemming. Jason is a rising star in the practice until he falls afoul of Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Moody, who blackmails him into working a dangerous undercover assignment aimed at exposing corruption in local government. When tragedy strikes again, Jason immerses himself in his undercover work to ease his personal pain. Several murders occur, but it's the unraveling of the complicated web of government criminal malfeasance that makes the novel a smart, compelling page-turner. Tough and quick with a wisecrack, Jason always takes the hard road when he could far more easily bend or compromise. Readers will eagerly await his next outing. (Feb.)