Loose Ends: A Fenway Burke Mystery

Not much works in Phoenix's second novel featuring Massachusetts PI Fenway Burke (after 2012's Frame Up). Legendary mobster Morris Gold, "the man behind the man behind the man," hires Burke after Gold's grandson's wife vanishes. Her fate is not withheld from the reader, who's already seen a former lover abduct her. Before long, Burke, aided by his Hawk-like thuggish ally, Ragnar "Ax" Ericson, must plan an operation in Colombia aimed at freeing the captive, whom Gold's grandson knew as Maria, from the heavily guarded compound of a major drug lord. The improbability of that plot development makes it even more crucial that the author compensate in other ways%E2%80%94with sharp writing, memorable characters, surprising twists%E2%80%94but Phoenix goes zero for three. Instead, unconvincing details (Gold supposedly still has the right to 12 Red Sox season tickets for the same price he paid 60 years ago%E2%80%94a nickel!) make buy-in to the premise an uphill slog. (Nov.)